The CDC tells me that my lifespan just decreased. As of today, I am expected to live 78.8 years. That’s 1.2 years fewer than it was before COVID. I just turned 52. You do the math.
I don’t like that news. Surely, there is something I can do to change it. Yes, of course, there is. You know just as well as I do. Reduce stress, sleep more, eat a balanced diet, avoid sugar, caffeine, and alcohol, then exercise at least 3 days per week and stay active the other four. Yes, that list sounds exhausting. That is precisely why the average is 78.8. It explains that most of us will refuse to make the changes necessary to live longer and better lives.
It’s relatively easy to track our physical life averages. But, what about our spiritual lives? What opportunities do we find to improve or strengthen our souls? This is what Amos is talking about today in chapter four. Five times, in this short passage, we are reminded of the opportunities we missed. Five times, Amos reminds the Israelites, that the Lord attempted to get their attention.
It seems crazy to me. Our physical bodies are trying to get our attention, yet we do little or nothing to improve them just as God is trying to get our attention. He is trying to complete us. He wants us to be whole. He wants us to be with him for eternity. That can only happen one way. “Return to me,” he asks us. It’s that simple.