“The Clock of Life”

Earlier in the summer, I read the poem, “The Clock of Life,” attributed to Robert H. Smith and written in 1932. 

The clock of life is wound but once
And no man has the power
To tell just where the hands will stop,
At late or early hour.

To lose one’s wealth is sad indeed,
To lose one’s health is more.
To lose one’s soul is such a loss
As no man can restore.

The present only is our own.
Live, love, toil with a will.
Place no faith in ‘tomorrow’
For the clock may then be still.

While a well-known poem, I was unfamiliar with it until paging through a book while traveling in July.  Ever since, the opening line has haunted my consciousness.  The clock of life is wound but once.

The poem’s imagery captures the preciousness and brevity of life.  Its words focus our attention on living in the moment we exist.  The poem identifies our general inability to determine the length of our earthly time.  The author directs us away from the pursuit of power and money and instead towards the recognition and value of the gifts of health and spirit.  We are tasked to “live, love, and toil with a will.” 

Every year, my summertime travels take me on drives through the countryside and through towns large and small.  Regardless of my surrounds, rural or urban, the constancy of religious buildings always presents itself.  Amongst the beautiful green fields of corn and soybeans, steeples simple and elaborate reach heavenward.  Within the sprawling cityscape are towers and domes of stone and brick.  All are of symbols of love and spirit, built to turn our attention away from earthly matters.  Each are testimonies of our awareness of God and the paramount importance of a spiritual life. 

The religious buildings that dot the landscape, built by hands I’ll never know or meet, remind me of something else, too.  They are comforting symbols that God connects us through our faith.  Be it a weather-beaten clapboard chapel or a cathedral of granite and marble, each reminds me that we journey together, united, comforted, restored, and sustained through God’s never-ending and unlimited love. 

The clock of life is wound but once.  How will you choose to spend the time?  Do not wait until tomorrow.  Instead, live the new life in Christ, as described in Romans 12:

12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, on the basis of God’s mercy, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members and not all the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7 ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the encourager, in encouragement; the giver, in sincerity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil; hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not lag in zeal; be ardent in spirit; serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; persevere in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; pursue hospitality to strangers.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be arrogant, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18 If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 Instead, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink, for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.