Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:00 — 4.1MB)
I’ve been examining what it would look like if you and I, as Christ-followers, determined to live like we’re dying. That will look very different in all our lives. I think of a friend who had a difficult boss, and she could have filed a legitimate discrimination claim against him. Others urged her to do just that. But God showed her for the time being to simply let it go. She obeyed. God used it in her life to transform her more into the likeness of Jesus, and no doubt, as a testimony to her co-workers. She was leaving a Christ-honoring footprint there on her job.
I think of a friend whose marriage was anything but ideal. She chose through many years to stick it out, to insist he get help, and to work through all kinds of baggage. They’re still together, and it’s better, much better. She has obeyed what God told her to do concerning her marriage. She’s leaving behind a legacy of a godly woman who told God she wanted to do his will, whatever the cost.
Living like you’re dying means you simply walk through your everyday life totally dedicated to doing God’s will. It means you hold everything in open hands and give God permission to change your plans at any time.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming (2 Peter 3:10-12).
Living like you’re dying produces holy and godly lives, and that kind of life leaves a footprint that cannot be missed, that is priceless and eternal.
