I just returned from a funeral for the father of one of the members of my congregation and my friend. Every time I am part of a funeral or go to one, the same thought hits me. "Am I living my life in such a way as to not have regrets when I step into eternity?" The Bible says that it is appointed unto every man once to die... Every one of us has an appointment with God. We will all step into eternity and, when that happens, will we look back on our lives and be proud or happy with what we see? Or will there be regrets?
So many of us call ourselves Christians, but do our lives reflect what we believe? Now, I know my friend's dad is in heaven and he lived a long and productive life, but I'm talking about how we live our lives now. Do we value what we should value or do we spend all of our time on things which will not even matter in the end.
I have had the privilege of sitting with many a believer shortly before they have gone to be with the Lord. None of them ever complained that they didn't get enough time at the office. None ever wished that they spent more time working on political change. None of them worried that they never got that new car, or that bigger house, or that new computer, or guitar, or whatever. No, but many of them wished, and I mean deep down cried out wishing, that they had just a little more time to spend with the ones they loved. Some spoke that they wished they had spent more time building the Kingdom of God. Many wished that they had walked with God for more years of their lives.
When faced with eternity, temporary things just seem meaningless. Why are those things so important to us now? When all is said and done, what will our lives amount to? Will we look back and see that we have poured all that we could into our family with our love and our attention and our time? Will we look back and see that we spent our time building the Kingdom of God by sharing His love with our friends and family and neighbors? Have we been consistently a part of a church fellowship where we have encouraged others in their faith and helped to grow a strong body of Christ and grow in the Lord ourselves? Have we helped those who were in need and thus, as Jesus said, given to Him through "the least of these"?
What does my life amount to? If we look and see that we will regret the way we are living now when it comes our turn to step out of these bodies and into our eternal ones, why don't we do something about it now? Jesus said that in order for a man to save his life, he must lose it for Christ's sake. Is there something that we might need to change in order that we not have regrets at the end? If so, let's no wait until later, when it's too late. Let's do it right now. Let's talk to our Lord right now and make the changes so that, along with Paul, at the end of our time on this planet we can say:
2 Tim 4:7-8
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-- and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. (NIV)
Until later,
Don
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1 comment:
That made me cry. When my kids are upstairs playing and I'm sitting watching t.v. I often wonder why are we all not together in the same room enjoying each others company. Then I tell the boys to come spend time with me and they sigh and I let them have their way. Don, my boys will be reading this blog. Nothing is more important than Gods children and the way we love them. Love has alot to do with it when it comes to Gods children. What a blessing the Lord gives us when he sends us a child. Thank you for your wisdom.
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