Today’s passage is Matthew 10:24-33.

Jesus tells us we are not above our teachers or masters, that all secrets will be revealed, to fear God not men, that God is concerned about the smallest details, to acknowledge Jesus so that in heaven he will acknowledge us.

Jesus says God has counted the hairs on our head.

He’s counted the days of our life too.

Today he added a new number to my years but I feel no different for being a year older.

I only wonder how many more before I see him face to face.

Today I asked my students how many days left till the end of our course.

They knew instantly because they count them off.

They didn’t know when they’d hand in their essay, though.

So I talked to them about today’s passage. I asked a perennially late student, if she knew when the class began. She told me.

Then she gave an excuse for paying no attention to that number. For tomorrow’s class, I assigned my students a number of pages to read.

Sometimes I seem to live by numbers.

My phone number, my PIN, my address, my pay day, how much I’m paid, how much I owe, when mokjang is, when I need to wake up, and on and on.

I’m so busy with numbers that I forget what’s important.

Today I told my students we shouldn’t trust each other because we’re selfish, but we did need to love each other. We got beyond numbers.

What’s important today for me? To praise God. To pray. To tell my wife I love her.

No numbers involved.

Lord, teach me to let go of counting what you already know.

Teach me to see my life with your eyes, your mind and your heart.