Well, the day is here. 8/8/08. It's been strange these past few years in 2000 as the date reaches triple digits. I don't know if it's superstition or 'what' that leads people to feel like they've hit the jackpot if their special event lands on the "triple play" of the time slot machine! Yet, they do and I'm trying to figure out why. As soon as the new millennium hit it was 1/1/01. There was a lot of hoopla then, but it was more for the new 'frontier' rather than the "cool date". Each year ticked past another pair of 3, but I've only noticed the mania since a couple of years ago. This fascination really hit back in June of '06 as the date read "666". People walked around as if the day were cursed or something. No one I knew wanted to plan special events, or especially give birth to a baby on such a date. Oddly enough, June 6th is my in-laws wedding anniversary... so they celebrated on 6/6/06.
Of course, that number is attributed to the "mark of the beast", so we feel a little eerie...but that should not have "ruined the day".
Then there was last year... '07. I remember when I was getting ready to have Shad and July hit. So many expectant moms I talked to wanted 7/7/07 as their baby's birthday. It's a common thought that "7" is God's number of perfection. Many secular people also view the number as lucky.
Now, here we are today in the fleeting marker of 8/8/08 in the passing of time, and believe me...folks who use the Gregorian calendar have been anticipating this day for a long time. I was not surprised at all when they set the opening day of the Olympics for today...8/8/08.
The truth is, take any given day and there are countless divine appointments from God (such as births of babies, people passing from this life to the next, marriages, etc.) The date really has little bearing to us, but it does to God. He planned for your life to unfold. He knew the day you were conceived, the day you were born, the day you'd first ride a bike, etc. Sure, some dates (like for weddings) are our choice, but again... it makes me ask why we choose the things we do.
What I discern, however, is that people aren't fascinated with the particular "date" on the calendar, but rather the NUMBERS that make up the date.
Numbers are important to God because He is a God of order, but we cannot give way to numerology or astrology- studying numbers or anything else to reveal our future or determine the value of any given day! Numbers can be significant- but they are not clairvoyant.
God does assign meaning to numbers and date markers, but the truth is that we may never fully understand why or to what extent. A good example of this is the power of 3 in the Bible. The godhead is triune (three distinct personhoods). There must be significance there, but can we comprehend the ways of God? God even talks about the three strand chord and how it is not easily broken. Obviously there seems to be great significance there!
Numbers were God's idea. You don't have to read very far into the pages of the Bible to start seeing examples of numbers. Creation is an example. There are seven days of creation. Also, the fact that He created the sun, moon, and stars in such a way that he gave us the "calendar". By the sun's mere existence, we have our year, our seasons, and our day. It was also Jesus himself who divided the time line of history. The cross is the marker that sets the old apart from the new.
Continue reading the Bible and you'll find even more... in fact an entire book called "NUMBERS". I am convinced that numbers relate to God more than they do to us; meaning that numbers testify to God and reveal His character more than say something about US.
Here are some more examples The Word tells us that our days are numbered. Is that number significant to us? No, because we don't know the day we'll die or what that number is. It's more of a testimony to God that He has a plan and order for your life.
Here's another. The Bible even says that he knows the number of hairs on our head. Do we care how many hairs on on our head? Well, only if we are balding... No, not really. Again, it's more of a testimony to God that He knows everything about you... clear down to the tiniest of details.
So today as we think about numbers and significance of dates, let's be reminded of Psalm 118:24 that instructs us how to approach every day (regardless of the date)...
"This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."
