Live like you were dying

“Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)

I work best with a deadline. In college, I was notorious for knowing how long it would take to write a paper, and then waiting until the last possible moment to start the paper. Inevitably, I would finish with minutes to spare. Even when it comes to preparing sermons, I do a lot of work during the week, but it’s when I sit down with my draft on Saturday evening that my brain kicks into high gear and everything comes together. For some reason, it’s the pressure that brings out the best in me.

But the truth is that I, along with you, and everyone else, have the ultimate deadline looming. One day, we will all die. The life that we are living in the body will be no more. And although most of us live our days oblivious to this fact, perhaps we would be wise to consider that deadline. The Psalmist tells us to “number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). And the writer of Ecclesiastes writes that “death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart” (Ecclesiastes 7:2). There is something about near-death experiences, and funerals, that cause us to stare death in the face and evaluate how we are living. But more often than not, our perspective fades as we get back to the business of living.

This spring, we will be offering a four week community group that we’ve entitled “Live like you were dying.” This group, which will be led by Bill and Pam Brindley, will take place on Thursday evenings from 6:45-8:00 from May 11th-June 1st. During this group, we’ll look closely at what the Bible has to say about death and the life after that, and take some time to consider how we are living in the light of death and eternity. Are we right with God? What does it mean to store up treasure in heaven? What do we do with our failures, regrets, and unfinished business? And how do we want to be remembered when we die? What legacy do we want to leave, and what needs to happen before the ultimate deadline in order for that to happen?

Death is the destiny of everyone, and the living should take this to heart. Because of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, we do not need to fear the final deadline, but neither should we be nonchalant about it. Let us live our life to the fullest in light of that ultimate deadline.