This week's thoughts...from Brian

I was listening to the radio recently. A song came on from a famous country music singer named Tim McGraw. The song is called Live Like You Were Dying. It hints about a guy who found out that he was going to die in the very near future from a disease of some sort. In the opening verse his buddy asks him, after he gets the news of his impending demise, "how'd you take it, what did you do?" The song then breaks into the chorus: I went sky diving, Rocky mountain climbing, I went 2.7 seconds on bull named Fu-Man Chu... The second verse then describes that this news made him a better man, a better husband, a better friend. Essentially this news caused him to do all the things that he wanted to do and hadn't done. It caused him to get his priorities straight and to finally be the person that he knew he was supposed to be.

The scripture is clear that sin has brought death into the human experience. Where once we walked along side a Holy God in a perfect place, with no thought, feeling or concern of death or dying we now have to suffer the consequences of our actions. The wages of sin is death. The subject of Tim's song comes to this realization in his 40's, the words tell us. He realized through the doctors information that he is, in fact, dying.

But the simple matter of it all is that we are all dying. From the moment we are conceived in our mothers womb we are destined to a physical death. It shouldn't take a doctors note or a painful message from a police officer or a verdict from a judge to make us realize that we, and everyone around us, are dying. I guess because most of us think that we have "time", we don't live like we are dying, to the point of Tim's song. But the song makes another crescendo building point. The writer tells us to ask ourselves, "if you were living like tomorrow was a gift and you had eternity to think about what you'd do with it...what would you do with it?" What would you do with tomorrow?

For us believers the fact that we are dying right now is not breaking news, nor is it very scary. Maybe the way way we will leave the earth is scary for some of us, but mostly the destination seems exponentially better than our situation right now. But I have to ask, if this was your swan song, if this was you last moment, if the fat lady was in fact singing for you right now...what would you be doing...saying...thinking? Would you be the best husband you could be, would you have your priorities in the right order...would you be leaving a legacy that is eternal? Would you leave behind thoughts, memories and words about yourself or about your Savior? Will the writings of your life be those of a rock star or a disciple of the God of the Universe. I heard Louie Giglio say this..."the Name that is echoing through the corridors of heaven, is the Name of Jesus Christ." When all others names and accomplishments are dead and gone, the Name of Jesus and the cross of Calvary will be on the lips of the eternal for 10,000 millenia and beyond.

If you are living like you are dying...and you are dying, whether you realize it or not...will you leave anything eternal behind? Buildings or houses?.. will one day fall to the ground. Wealth or an inheritance?.. will one day be spent or stolen. A rock star resume or university degrees?.. will one day be forgotten. A beautiful love song or breath-taking painting?.. will be replaced by another song or painting. A fortune 500 company or brand new invention?.. will one day not be so fortunate or new. Religions and traditions?.. will be challenged and changed.

But if you leave nothing but the person of Jesus you leave The Way, The Truth and The Life for all who would look. When they remember me, I want them to remember Jesus...just Jesus.

I hope someday you take the chance to live like you were dying. BR