WHAT IF TODAY WAS MY LAST?

Do you remember what you were doing this past Sunday afternoon? I was in London enjoying the day with my grandchildren, and keeping an eye on the gathering clouds in case we got rained out. I had no idea that at that time, just a few blocks from my home in Tillsonburg, a man was about to be struck by lightning. In the blink of an eye, with no warning, this well liked man in the community was suddenly facing eternity. While my life and the lives of those close to me were going on as normal, the lives of the Johnson family were about to be dramatically changed, forever.

What a reminder of the uncertainty of life. How many of us have known people who got up in the morning assuming that all would go on as usual, only to be struck down suddenly in a car accident or with a heart attack. Only God knows how our day will end.

Matthew 6:27 says "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life." While the message of this passage has to do mostly with trusting God, it reminds us as well that our lives are in God's hands. We can eat right and exercise properly and see the doctor regularly, all things we should do, and still have no guarantee that we will see tomorrow.

Perhaps you think I'm trying to scare you. I'm really just wanting us to ask the question Peter asked when he was talking about the end times in 2 Peter 3:12 "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives..."

Peter asked a pretty important question, don't you think? In light of the fact that our lives can be ended or forever altered in an instant of time, what should our lives look like? How should we act? How should we spend our time? What should our priorities be considering that any day could be our last?

When I was younger I was like most young people. I felt like I was immortal. The idea of death or old age seemed very remote. Now that I'm getting older it's not quite as abstract as it once was. Even though I'm still in my early sixties, quite a few friends and relatives I've known over the years who were my age or younger are already gone. Maybe you can attest to the fact that attending the funeral of someone younger than yourself has a way of making your own mortality seem a bit more real. This is certain. One day my life will end and I will be face to face with God. It could be thirty years from now. It could be today. So what does that mean?

Some would say it means I should live as if each day could be my last. That sounds right in a way, but is it practical or even possible? The truth is if I knew I was going to die tomorrow this wouldn't be anything like any other day. I would be scurrying around seeing people and passing on my "last words" to loved ones, and putting my final affairs in order. In that sense living every day like it's my last is not realistic. And the problem with setting unrealistic goals is that we are doomed to failure.

So what is realistic? How should I live each day knowing that it probably won't be my last, but it might? Let me put it another way. If I suddenly find myself in heaven will I be able to look back over the past few days (or weeks, or months) and be content with the way I have lived and what I have done with my life?

What would my life have to look like in order for me to have that sense of contentment? I suppose it has to do with things like:

• how I treated my family
• how I treated other people I know
• how I showed love to people I don't know
• whether I have served God and others the way he wants me to
• whether I have spent my time and talents and resources appropriately
• whether I have had a healthy spiritual life and a good relationship with God
• whether my lifestyle and behaviour was pleasing to God

Hearing of the sudden death of someone, like the tragic case of Dave Johnson in Tillsonburg, may cause us to reflect on our lives. Here's the question that comes to my mind and that I challenge you to consider as well. If I were to be face to face with God today, would I be able to stand before Him in confidence, knowing I have lived in a way that is pleasing to Him? I suspect we all feel we come short of that high goal. So let's use this question as an opportunity to move closer to the ideal in our relationship with God and what we do with the days He gives us.