Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK
Feb. 20, 2012

“It’s Not the Years…It’s the Mileage”
“Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many.” – Proverbs 4:10

You don’t have to be a “movie buff” to recognize some of the most famous lines and quotes that seem to find their way in our everyday conversations. You may have never seen the movies from which a quote is taken—and yet you may have used the quote from time-to-time. Here are some of the most famous quotes/lines from movies through the years. See if you can guess what movies they are from and who said them. If you think you know the answers to quotes email them to me along with either the character’s name from the movie or their actual name.

“Here’s looking at you, kid.”
“Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
“You don’t understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am.” “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.” “My mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and I thank you.”
“One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas I’ll never know.” “Mama always said life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.”
“Well, here’s another fine mess you’ve gotten me into.”
“Hasta la vista, baby,”
Some of those are just way too easy and how many times have we used any of these lines? I have one more—and it may not be as “famous” as these others but it is one of my personal favorites. It is from one of the greatest adventure movies ever made, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Harrison Ford plays an archeologist who tends to get himself into some rather bizarre situations—usually requiring him to use some very creative means to rescue himself and others from diabolical villains. After one such episode his body is bruised, and bloody. The character he has just rescued (a female of course) said, “Your getting old, Jones.” Following is one of the greatest lines of all times: “It’s not the years, honey, it’s the mileage.”,br /> So, what does a movie quote have to do with Proverbs? Or our lives for that matter? If you go back to Solomon’s day, the average life-span was around 60 years of age. Not quite the same as during the early Old Testament days was it? So for them, long life was truly a matter of perspective.
In our culture we tend to measure a “good long life” to those who live into their eighties, nineties and even beyond. But does that mean that their life has been a good one? Could it be that those who lived far less in terms of their years experienced more “life” in a short time than many who live to be much older? It is unfortunate that too many leave us way too early, but if they knew the Lord as their Savior—if they have been “saved by grace,” and were walking with Him through life—then I would say they got far more mileage out of their life.
The Life of Christ offers so much more and though it may not add years to our lives, it will add life to our years. I love this quote from John Eldredge from his book, The Journey of Desire: “The Jews (of Jesus day) were practicing a very soul-killing spirituality, a lifeless religion of duty and obligation. They had abandoned desire and replaced it with knowledge and performance as the key to life. The synagogue was the place to go to learn how to get with the program. Desire was out of the question; duty was the path that people must walk. No wonder they feared Jesus. He came along and started appealing to desire I am also reminded what the Psalmist says in chapter 90: “For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.”
Truth of the matter…time means nothing to God—and with God, time loses it power and grip on our lives. When we are living our lives with “God-Ordained” passion, the time we spend with Him and for Him lose its meaning as well. A few minutes for Jesus are worth more than a day elsewhere! In conclusion...are you getting mileage out of your life—or are you running out of gas? Something to consider this day!
Pastor J. T. Carnell