genesis 11:10-32 :: from shem to abram

i enjoy reading through these lists of old names…and part of me wishes i was named arphaxad. even though that sounds more like the name of a horse, or a band. whatever the commercial applications are for ancient names, i still think they’re cool. i really wish we had more info on these guys. i always do. i want to know what they did, what their world was like, and how they served God, if they did. i draw a lot from the experiences of others i can read about. from their encounters and life situations.
the biggest thing i see, today, in this list is this rapid decrease in lifespans. we start with shem who lives to be around 500 years old, and we end up with terah dying at 205. that sounds old today, but not terribly. i personally do not want to live to be 100. i have somewhere else to be.

i love my family and i want as much time as possible with them, but i have somewhere else to be.

i could care less about my stuff, i don’t mind leaving it all behind. someone else can have it. i have somewhere else to be.

i really enjoy the majesty of creation, and getting out to camp or hike or go kayaking. but what i see now, dimly as in a mirror, i will then see clearly. i have somewhere else to be.

i do not seek or crave death. i want to have a good long life in service to my Creator-King. i want to make a difference for Him, and so I will be content in Him for however long He decides that i should walk and breathe and exist.

each of these guys in the chapter must have had a really odd feeling when the figured out that each generation wasn’t making it near as long as the last. how long did -they- have? would they live to be 300 or just 250? how long would they make it? it’s almost like living with a terminal disease. you know you’re going, but you just don’t know when.

and, in reality, it is the same for us today. there is nothing new under the sun, right? but something(s) today keep us from acknowledging our own mortality. it it raw fear that keeps that end-point out of our minds? is it just such an abstract idea, that we cannot wrap our minds around our own existence winking out one day?

i continue to be thankful that i do not need to fear that moment. when my days on earth come to an end, because I know who i serve. and when He says my time is up, i will be fine with that.