Live Like You Are Dying!

I grew up on country music! It was a pretty big part of my life as a child. Of course one might ask if I really had a choice since I grew up in upstate South Carolina! There was a song that came out a few years back by Tim McGraw called “Live like You Were Dying.” I rarely ever listen to country music anymore, but I did recently hear this song and it got me to thinking about so many things.

The song basically talks about a guy who is close to death and he explains things that he is doing differently with his life now that he knows he is dying. He has a long bucket list of things he did that he had never done before like sky diving and other things! He also explains how he changed as a person as far as the way he lived. He then goes on to say that he hopes everyone gets the chance to live like they are dying! What would our lives look like if we lived this way?

I know it would affect the amount of time I spent with my wife and children. I would never take for granted anything that involved them, which is so easy to do. It would also radically change the way I live my life in day to day conversations. I am not trying to be melodramatic but I am haunted by the number of people that I have crossed paths with that I never shared my faith with. There are many people that I used to work or went to school with that I never told about Jesus, and I knew at the time that they probably weren’t saved.

I can’t do anything about the past, but I can do something about the present and the future. I think as believers we should live our lives with eternity in mind. When I go out to eat, I should consider that the conversation I have with my server may be the last chance I have to share Jesus with them. When I tuck my children into bed at night and pray over them, I should consider that it could be the last time. That homeless person you pass by that you see everyday may just be the last time you see them!

In all honestly, we usually live like we will be on this earth forever, when the average person lives to be about seventy five years old. Compared to eternity that is not a long time, and we aren’t even promised to live that long. Scripture says that life is like a vapor, we are here one minute and gone the next.

My challenge for all of us to ponder during this Christmas season is to live everyday like tomorrow will not come. Share the gospel with a lost world, love on somebody, bless somebody, encourage somebody, hug your family, and tell them you love them! When we live this way is when we truly do experience the life Christ desires for us!