From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD.
Leviticus 23:15-16
We are in a time of year known as the counting of the Omer. I mentioned the Feast of Firstfruits a couple weeks ago. That was day one and kicked off the counting up to 50, which will be the Feast of Shavuot (Hebrew for ‘weeks’; Pentecost in Greek). Passover/Unleavened Bread/Firstfruits takes place around the time of the barley harvest in Israel. Fifty days later is the time of the wheat harvest.
In the months leading up to the release of Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, some friends and I counted down the days until the movie’s release. We actually counted down almost daily for six months! It was such an exciting time. As another example, last summer I counted down the weeks until I left for Israel. Perhaps you remember something you counted down the days to. Why do we have countdowns? It’s because there is something we are looking forward to. We anticipate something exciting is going to happen.
One difference with counting the Omer, however, is that we count up. The Israelites came out of Egypt but were spiritual infants. Before God could give them the Torah, he had to teach them. Thus, by counting up, it signifies spiritual growth. Transformation doesn’t usually happen overnight. Instead, it’s a gradual process. In the same way, we are to strive by the grace of God to grow closer to him and become more in line with how he wants us to be.
If there’s something in your life that needs improvement, work on making today better than yesterday and tomorrow better than today. Make your life count.