If I counted correctly this morning, the number came to 201. I’ll talk more about that number in a couple of minutes. But first …

One of the things we learn very early as human beings is the importance of numbers.

“How old are you,” asks a new parent of a child first learning to talk. “Can you say, ‘Two?'”, while holding up two fingers. The child most likely has no idea about the concept of what ‘two’ really means, or why two fingers are held up when momma asks, “How old are you?” They only know the proper response is “Two,” because momma told them to ‘Say two.’ They aren’t even aware that two is a number. But it’s an important number, that will increase with the passing of every year.

We humans have numbers for everything, don’t we? We pull into a drive-up window, and when we order we say, “I’ll have a number 6 with no onions and a large fries.” And the kid at the window knows exactly what we mean. It’s almost as if we’re communicating in a coded language. So many ways we use numbers to help us distinguish and keep track of things. We have license plate numbers, and phone numbers, and street address numbers. Our birthdates are recorded as numbers. The cars we drive have VIN numbers and the towns we live in all have ZIP codes that are numbers. In fact, in America, everyone has a totally unique number. You can’t enroll in school, or go to the doctor, or even apply for a job without that social security number. No, numbers are what help us identify and distinguish one thing or person from another.

I counted up this morning the number of segments of Classic State of Mind I’ve done since I began on March 3, 2019. If I counted correctly, that number came to 201. Turns out that, as of today, I’ve recorded 201 segments of Classic State of Mind since I started. That’s nearly 15 hours worth of recorded thought, delivered either on the Classic State of Mind website, or on one of the radio stations around the country where it’s heard weekly. Almost 15 hours of recordings, delivered 4 or five minutes at a time; that adds up to close to 125,000 words about ‘words,’ you might say.

If God were to ask me how many Classic State of Mind’s I’ve done, I could answer that question.

But if God asked me the number of segments I have left, before I’m finished? I don’t know that number. In fact, I’m not even sure I know what that number means. Of course, God would never ask me. That is a number known only to God, and he’s not telling what it is.

The words of the Song Writer, David in Ps. 39:

“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
Remind me that my days are numbered—
how fleeting my life is.”

I don’t think the importance of understanding that life is a very short number… can be overstated. Do you?