I have had the opportunity recently, and even twice this week, to be confronted with the brevity of life . First, dealing with family loved ones and friends who have recently faced deeply concerning health challenges. And, then just this week, being notified of the passing in a tragic accident of a friend I had shared good times with, and whom I had just visited with in mid June. And, as I write this, Mary and I traveling halfway across the country for the home-going of my sister in law who has been battling Alzheimer’s for some years now as she is in the final breaths of her life.
Being confronted with the brevity of life is not unusual for one of my years. But these confrontations are never, even when you can see the passing coming as with Alzheimer’s, entirely expected nor welcomed in the moment.
Two things I would encourage you in, in the wake of these confrontations..
1) We are a resurrection centered people serving an eternal God. Knowing Him means we are not as those who have no hope.
[1Thessalonians 4:13-14 NASB95] 13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
2) Take up the opportunity to make the most of the time you have been given, knowing God has purpose for you, and that you serve His eternal purpose while in the world.
[Ephesians 5:15-17 NASB95] 15 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
[Galatians 6:8-10 NASB95] 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. 10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.
[Colossians 4:2-5 NASB95] 2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with [an attitude of] thanksgiving; 3 praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; 4 that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak. 5 Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.
These scriptures make it clear that we have a responsibility to discern and look for the will of the LORD and, in that wisdom, make the most of the opportunities he lead us into. Opportunities to hold up a standard for His righteousness and good in an evil day, to sow to the Spirit toward the harvest of eternal life doing good to others at His direction, and to keep alert by prayer to God opening the doors for us, and others, to speak the word and unveil the mystery of Jesus to those around us.
None of this is intended to be an endorsement of a “Carpe diem” mentality. For that mentality can lead to 1) valuing this day and this moment and its responsibility to the point of becoming a burden like law upon us. Or, 2) it can, going the other way, lead us to eat drink an be merry for tomorrow we die, so planning doesn’t matter because tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.
In Matthew 6 Jesus brings us a true balance between these two attitudes saying.
[Matthew 6:,27, 34 NASB95] 27 “And who of you by being worried can add a [single] hour to his life? … 34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
His discourse here although primarily about provision of food and clothing includes the reminder in verse 32 “your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things” so Jesus instruction regarding seizing the day isn’t focused on doing something to be sure you have enough for today, or have done enough to lay up for tomorrow No. Rather His direction is to trust God, the Father, for both today and tomorrow and get His direction by living under His Lordship. We don’t live for today alone, nor do we pretend tomorrow won’t come. And, we are not to get buried in anxiety about what we have or what we have done. We live for and in Him.
His foundational direction regarding developing this trust is an instruction that goes goes to seeking Him and his will. Just before He says “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself”, His clear instruction is this familiar command:
[Matthew 6:33 NASB95] 33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Yes a kingdom can be a geographical place. But we do a disservice, I believe, if we think His kingdom pie in the sky when we die. A kingdom is inherently and primarily a place/domain where a King rules/reigns/has authority! If we desire to live in the fullness of His provision and in co-laboring in His purpose we will first, and as a priority, seek His rule in our lives and to do what He directs and leads us to as LORD. As in (pardon the paraphrasing but I think you will se the point) the following phrases from the scriptures above.
be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, …. understand what the will of the Lord is. …the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. ….Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it … praying… that God will open up a door for the word,
In seeking Him and His kingdom we can take hold of His purpose in everyday, every moment, that He gives us life, understanding our days are numbered and we are not guaranteed tomorrow. But, without performance anxiety or a spirit of unconcerned blissful ignorance and nonchalance and indifference.
[Psalm 139:13-17 NASB95] 13 For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, [And] skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; 16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained [for me,] When as yet there was not one of them. 17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
He formed me/you with purpose and intent. We were wonderfully made for His works, and for just such a time as this. He has numbered and ordained our days. Just consider that!
When we understand that our days are numbered, and our life here is brief, and we are but a vapor, we also understand that they are too few to waste. And they are certainly too few to waste in the anxiety of what we will have or won’t have, or will or won’t accomplish. With that understanding we can really make the most of the opportunities, the day, the time, the moment, by trusting Him and His direction. There is both time to be serious minded and down to business in His purpose, and there is also time to enjoy Him, His creation, and to love and do good to others in His purpose. It’s all about finding our life in Him. As Paul said at the Areopagus in Athens in Acts 17 ” for in Him we live and move and exist.”
Let us seek first His kingdom, His rule, His will in the days He gives.
[James 4:14-15 NASB95] 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are [just] a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15 Instead, [you ought] to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”
Finally, for years I have encouraged those who have lost loved ones with the words “you have a treasure laid up”. These words were spoken by a brother that encouraged Mary and I after we lost our first baby shortly after birth. He brought us a message from the passages after David had lost the child he created in his sin with Bathsheba regarding how the child would not come back to David, but that he would go to him. Then he said to us “You have a treasure laid up”.
This concept also has its roots in Matthew 6:
[Matthew 6:19-21 NASB95] 19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
You see, I believe Jesus was making it clear that there is nothing going to the other side with us. The only treasure we can lay up in heaven is people. Relationships/people are the “stuff of earth” going to the other side with us, because relationships and people are the only piece of heaven we touch here. As such, they are the only “stuff” worth investing in here. Relationships and loving people is the only investment you will make here that carries eternal dividends. So, love one another, investing deeply, because the brevity of life gives us need to make to most of the opportunities and the days He gives us.