Not everyone ages at the same rate or in the same way. Some people are full of life well on into their twilight years, while others fade long before their time. But all of us, no matter how young or old, no matter how we feel or how frail we are, are moving one day at a time toward the day that the lights finally go out.

It’s with that end in mind that the author of Ecclesiastes calls us to remember our Creator while we still have time. But when he says “Remember,” he’s not calling us to a mechanical exercise such as recalling irregular English verbs or multiplication tables. The call to remember encourages us to drop every sense of self-sufficiency and to cast ourselves unreservedly on God as our Creator and Sustainer. To “remember your Creator” means to know Him, love Him, and serve Him as your highest joy.

The timeframe in which this exhortation is to be responded to is significant: the writer specifically urges his readers to remember God “in the days of your youth.” If you are no longer young, don’t worry—this may apply to you much more than you think! The Bible is far more flexible concerning youthfulness than we are. Even so, there is no question that those who are younger particularly need to heed these instructions.

We must beware of saying to ourselves, “I’ll get around to the serious stuff when the serious time comes.” This is the serious time! The days will soon come when you will not be able to see as you once saw, hear as you once heard, or walk as you once walked. However fast or slowly, the house of your life is breaking down. How tragic it would be to assume that you can remember your Creator tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, but never today, and then find that there is no more tomorrow. Beware of allowing the best years of your life to pass filled with things that will ultimately prove to be worthless. Remember your Creator while you have the opportunity. And if you feel your best years are already behind you, remember this also: God is able to “restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten” (Joel 2:25). It is better to remember now than to spend eternity with regret.