Expiration Date
Hungry and looking for a quick and easy snack, I headed to the kitchen to make myself a peanut butter sandwich. I pulled out the peanut butter from the pantry and grabbed the bread bag. However, as I pulled out a slice, I noticed some green mold on a corner. Disappointed, I looked at the bag for the expiration date. To my surprise, it wasn’t supposed to “expire” for another week. So, despite what the bag said, I tossed the whole bag away as all the slices contained mold.
Many people don’t know that there are no universally accepted criteria for how food manufacturers set expiration dates. As a result, it’s primarily up to the food manufacturer’s discretion to determine those dates. Although this process is variable, they factor in various variables to set expiration dates. For example, they consider the type of packaging, expected maturation date, temperature, estimated delivery of the food, etc.
Despite all of these estimates, spoiling is one factor that does not change. Eventually, all food will spoil given enough time and if not abiding by nearly “perfect” conditions for storage. What is not known is the exact date that food will expire. Similarly, we face the same fate. Regardless of our best efforts to “preserve” our bodies, no one knows the exact date they’ll “expire.”
This experience reminds me that Scripture encourages and reminds us that although this body is temporal, we have an eternal spirit. Also, as believers in Christ, we have the hope and promise that one day God will give us a new immortal body for our immortal soul. For this reason, you should make the most of your time and not invest too much on the temporal things of this world. Instead, invest heavily in incorruptible things with eternal value.
Daily Directive:
Answer and Journal the Following
Read:
Matthew 6:19-21
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Pray:
Pray for how to make the most of your time for His kingdom.
Meditate / Make It Real:
Contemplate and meditate on or memorize the passage. What is God saying to you? Then, determine what you will do with what you’ve learned.
Share / Show:
Share and show what you’ve learned with someone else.