WALE AT FORTY!

WALE @40

  The great Cicero once said: "this wine is forty years old. It certainly doesn't show its age." Yes, it seems like that with me also. However, my 40th birthday is nothing but a time for deep reflection if you ask me. This is not unexpected when one tows Samuel Beckett's line of thought which says: "to think, when one is no longer young, when one is not yet old, that one is no longer young, that one is not yet old, that is perhaps something." Although, the popular saying is that "life begins at forty" one needs to reflect on the wise saying of Arthur Schopenhauer that says “the first forty years of life give us the text: the next thirty supply the commentary.” What commentaries am I drawing? This question is especially pertinent when considered against the backdrop of the fact that this life is simply ephemeral. The only indelible footprints left on the path I tread in life is the legacy left behind. It is what lives on long after I’m gone! And to think it’s just a rare GRACE and privilege to be availed the opportunity of spending that same number of years I clocked today (40) on earth tend to put any sensible man on a platform of deep reflections!

The years have gone by quite fast and today I'm FORTY!

Forty is associated with a cycle or era. Forty also represents the time/period God often used to make major transitions or changes. Today I am a witness to the unfolding new chapter in my life and I'm very grateful for this. To God be the glory.

This brings me to the reflections on the significance of FORTY (40).

The significance of forty is seen throughout the Bible. Forty represents a period of probation, testing and trials. Moses was forty years when he fled from Egypt. He was on probation for forty years while on the backside of the mountain tending sheep. God called him when he was eighty. He led the Israelites through the wilderness forty years and died at age 120. Moses' life was divided into three distinct periods of forty years each. Moses received the Ten Commandments from God after spending forty days on Mount Sinai. When he broke the tablets, he returned for another forty day period.

Saul, the first king of Israel was on probation for forty years. He proved himself unworthy. He, his servant and his three sons all died on Mt. Gilboa after Saul had reigned forty years. He left no descendants on the throne.

How long did it rain after Noah and his family were safe inside the ark? Forty days and forty nights. It took that long for God to purge the earth of sin. Similarly, the twelve spies were in the land forty days, God told Ezekiel to lie on his side forty days to symbolize the punishment of Judah, Elijah fasted for forty days while he was hiding from Jezebel.

Forty centuries after Adam, Jesus came in the fullness of time. Jesus fasted forty days before starting His ministry. After His resurrection, he walked the face of the earth before ascending to His Father. Forty days after Jesus' crucifixion, Jerusalem was destroyed.

Other examples in the bible are:

·         Forty days after his birth, Jesus was presented to the Temple of Jerusalem for his legal purification, according to the established law.

·         Elijah walked 40 days and 40 nights before reaching Mount Horeb. He fasted for 40 days before beginning his public ministry and he remained 40 days on Mount Carmel. (1 K 19,8)

·         The priest Eli was Judge of Israel for 40 years. (1 S 4,18)

·         The children of Israel lived for 40 years in constraint with the Philistines. (Jg 13, 1)

·         The Hebrews wandered for 40 years in the desert. (Nb 32,13)

·         The reign of Joash lasted for 40 years in Jerusalem. (2 Ch 24,1)

·        Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah. (Gn 25,20)

·         The reign of David on Israel lasted for 40 years, just as the reign of Solomon in Jerusalem. (1 K 2,11 and 11,42; 2 Ch 9,30)

·         Forty is the number of chapters of the book of Exodus of the Old Testament.

From the earthly point of view, forty, according to R. Allendy, "is the achievement of a cycle in the world, or rather the rhythm of the cyclic repetitions in the Universe".

·         For Islam, the number 40 occupies an important place: the 40 companions, the 40 perfect; the universe is supported by 40 pillars; the 40 supports of the dome of the Mosque of Omar in Jerusalem; And at the Means-Age the Moslems were made to depilate their armpits every 40 days.

·         In some savage tribes, after the circumcision, the males had to withdraw themselves in the bush for a period of solitude of 40 days at the end of which they could then return to the village.

According to Saint Augustine, forty expresses the perfection "because the Law was given in ten commandments, then it is through the whole world that the Law has been preached, and the whole world is composed of four parts, Orient and Occident, South and North; therefore, by multiplying ten by four, we obtain forty. Or well, it is by the four books of the Gospel that the Law is accomplished."

But no matter what spiritual or numeric significance is attached to “40”, no matter what age you are or how long you have been married or how long you have worked for the same company, or what you have been through over these forty years, there is one area in which your probation will never end. And that is: “loving God more with each passing day.” God can never love us more. God can never love us less. But, we can love Him more.

Let's do that...not for forty days or forty years...but FOREVER.

 I thank God for all my friends, fans, buddies, colleagues and well wishers. Life would not have been the same without you. Thank you for your continuous support and prayers. It has gone a long way and will still keep going. Together, we are making our world a better place.

The number 40 is significant. Celebrating my 40th birthday marks the end of my 40th year and the beginning of my 41st year on earth. The rest of my life will be dedicated to leaving a legacy; passing on my experience, skills, understanding, faith to as many disciples as possible. It will be dedicated to raising successors and equipping the next generation.

The landmarks and turning points in my life, have, altogether, made a great recipe for cooking an interesting story – a story that lingers on, even after having departed this part of the planet. My sojourn through my schools, my transitions through every work environment, the impressions and imprints on the sand of life during this ongoing sojourn through this part of the planet and its curves, bends and sloppiness, the contacts I have made and friends; all add up to be an interesting story – a story with an undulating, wavy, sometimes frightening plot whose catharsis, surely, will induce a sigh!   

On my 40th Birthday, I choose to honour God. His mercy and grace to me and in me, is who I am now. May the name of the Lord be blessed forever more.

Bon voyage!