Would you like to know the exact date when you will die? What difference would it make in how you lived now...? (Serendipity Bible 10th Anniversary Edition, page 1010).
Speeding
Down an Overgrown Road
By
Wayne Standifer
I
have been in love with speed--
With
the simple passing on of things,
With
hands tight upon the steering wheel,
With
mouth dry and brow slightly cold,
With
the whiplash terror of passing things,
And
the running out of room.
What
if on the day you were born along with your birth certificate a post
dated death certificate was also issued. Thus, you could now rummage
around in the trunk where such things are kept and retrieve the date
you will surely die. Of course, a good rule of thumb to live by is
to assume that today will be the last day of your life. Because
then, one focuses on meaning as it is most highly cherished. The
goal then becomes how to connect and express the fundamental meaning
that signals your essential being and purpose. Of course, this need
not be an exquisitely uplifting thing. Some may choose to spend
their last day high on drugs, wallowing in money, or getting even
with their worst enemy. Others may wish that their last day be just
like any other—humbly lived within the will God.
Occasionally
I think about this question and always conclude it is best not to
know my death day. As a procrastinator and devotee of the dubious
notion that I always do my best under pressure, I probably would end
up dealing with it like I have college term papers—putting it
largely out of mind until a crush date. During the interim, I
chronically feel queasy and guilty about my irresponsibility. In
many ways due to God's mercy life is more like a pop quiz than a term
paper. Daily vigilance is encouraged. To quote from Joshua “then
choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve...” (Joshua
24:15 NIV).
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