"For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." ~James 4:14
Sitting around a fire with our family the other night, the question was posed: What would you do differently if you knew you only had two years left to live?
I listed some things I'd change and someone suggested that I ought to live my life the same way I'd live it if I knew when I would die. I've heard this before (who hasn't?), but for some reason, it really hit me this time.
And then again during Sunday's sermon, the same truth was discussed: You should live your life as one who is not promised another year, or even another day--because you're not.
I'm only 21. I go through my days assuming that I've got at least another 50-60 years left before my soul says farewell to my body. I probably have another 16-18 years to train Katie while she still lives with me at home, and even longer with my little man.
But, bad things happen to families because of the fall. Children bury their parents before they graduate high school. Sometimes, parents bury their children. And when tragedy strikes, it doesn't really matter what the chances were that it wouldn't happen.
While I know I'll never be perfect this side of eternity, I want to strive to live a life without regrets. I don't want to waste time on things that don't matter. I want to really live every day like it could be my very last.
I've been thinking about this a lot--not in a morbid way. I don't want to live worrying about when I'm going to die. But, I want to live purposefully and use my days in a way I wouldn't regret even if I did only have two years left. But, really, even if I have another 80 years left--why waste any of it?
All of this talk and thought is vanity if it doesn't effect any change. How will it look for me? I'm not exactly sure.
I've been working on a revamped time budget/schedule for myself with these kind of questions in mind:
::What would I teach my children if I knew I only had a year left with them?
::What kind of effort would I pour into my marriage if I knew when death would part us?
::How much time would I spend on facebook? (*gulp*)
::What necessary tasks would I streamline?
::What would I blog about?
::How much more effort would I spend studying Scripture and praying if I knew my face-to-face meeting with the Lord was imminent?
::What things would I forget about because they don't really matter that much?
By God's grace, I'm renewed in my determination to live my days out purposefully for His glory. You only get one chance at life. And then, like a vapor, you'll be gone.
What about your life would you change if you knew you would stand before God before the end of 2012?
