The Death Sentence
If today was your absolutely, positively last day on earth - what would you eat for breakfast? Sounds like an ad for “Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs” (thank you Calvin & Hobbs). But really, what would you do? Would you skip that morning meal in favour of rushing around madly to tell the ones you care about how much you love them? How would each moment go down in history? People would be interested to know how the person who knew the precise moment of his death actually lived that last day.
7:45 am – hugged parents for an hour
8:45 am – apologized to neighbours for never telling them about Christ
9:03 am – began giving away all earthly possessions to the less fortunate
10:12 am – begged passersby in the street to not waste one more second living as if they deserved their lives….
I think we all have a list similar to the one above. The question is, why is that behaviour only excusable on our last day? Why are we waiting? Well, we don’t know the hour of our demise. We just know that we’re dying every day. That thought should help us, really. Paul writes to the Corinthians, saying:
“We had the death sentence in us that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.”
In essence, he's saying, we’re dead already. Our independent lives died with Jesus on the cross. If you have been reborn through faith in Jesus, this is reality. Haven’t you found that so many things you pour yourself into come to nothing, while circumstances beyond your control seem to come through time and time again? Life is NOT what you make of it. We make death. That’s what we’re good at. We conjure poisons and then trick ourselves into drinking them. No more. The life of Christ is not something we fabricate or legislate. It is summed up in the word “resurrection”. Born of ashes. Dry bones growing flesh. The tomb is the front door.
What does this have to do with living your last day, every day? Don’t be fooled into believing God is limited. We think he actually needs us most of the time. You see, it’s better than that. He doesn’t need us, he wants us. Anyone who has children understands the pleasure of having your kids “help” you. It’s a joy to watch them fumble around, trying their best, doing something in a half an hour that you could have done in 3 minutes. But still, God wants us and includes us in his work. Live as if God will fill in every hole, bridge every chasm, quench every blaze, and move every mountain. Look impossible situations that open up in front of you right in the face – and don’t turn away.
Jesus knew precisely when he was going to die. He shouted, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” and then he died. The centurion overseeing the gruesome affair couldn’t believe it. No one hanging on a cross that long has enough lung capacity to shout like that. Your lungs begin to fill with fluid due to a collapsed diaphragm and there’s just no way you can shout. But Jesus shouted. This information was enough for a roman soldier to say, “this was the Son of God!” Jesus knew the moment of his death and lived for years in that light. He knew it would be the cross, he knew Judas would betray him, he knew Peter would deny him, he knew the world would not understand, and still he did it. If you think the Lord isn’t able to use you, where you are, this very day, then you actually have the perfect situation for God to be glorified in your life. Thank him for it. Get ready for it. Oh… and save me some Sugar Bombs.
BJ
7:45 am – hugged parents for an hour
8:45 am – apologized to neighbours for never telling them about Christ
9:03 am – began giving away all earthly possessions to the less fortunate
10:12 am – begged passersby in the street to not waste one more second living as if they deserved their lives….
I think we all have a list similar to the one above. The question is, why is that behaviour only excusable on our last day? Why are we waiting? Well, we don’t know the hour of our demise. We just know that we’re dying every day. That thought should help us, really. Paul writes to the Corinthians, saying:
“We had the death sentence in us that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.”
In essence, he's saying, we’re dead already. Our independent lives died with Jesus on the cross. If you have been reborn through faith in Jesus, this is reality. Haven’t you found that so many things you pour yourself into come to nothing, while circumstances beyond your control seem to come through time and time again? Life is NOT what you make of it. We make death. That’s what we’re good at. We conjure poisons and then trick ourselves into drinking them. No more. The life of Christ is not something we fabricate or legislate. It is summed up in the word “resurrection”. Born of ashes. Dry bones growing flesh. The tomb is the front door.
What does this have to do with living your last day, every day? Don’t be fooled into believing God is limited. We think he actually needs us most of the time. You see, it’s better than that. He doesn’t need us, he wants us. Anyone who has children understands the pleasure of having your kids “help” you. It’s a joy to watch them fumble around, trying their best, doing something in a half an hour that you could have done in 3 minutes. But still, God wants us and includes us in his work. Live as if God will fill in every hole, bridge every chasm, quench every blaze, and move every mountain. Look impossible situations that open up in front of you right in the face – and don’t turn away.
Jesus knew precisely when he was going to die. He shouted, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” and then he died. The centurion overseeing the gruesome affair couldn’t believe it. No one hanging on a cross that long has enough lung capacity to shout like that. Your lungs begin to fill with fluid due to a collapsed diaphragm and there’s just no way you can shout. But Jesus shouted. This information was enough for a roman soldier to say, “this was the Son of God!” Jesus knew the moment of his death and lived for years in that light. He knew it would be the cross, he knew Judas would betray him, he knew Peter would deny him, he knew the world would not understand, and still he did it. If you think the Lord isn’t able to use you, where you are, this very day, then you actually have the perfect situation for God to be glorified in your life. Thank him for it. Get ready for it. Oh… and save me some Sugar Bombs.
BJ
posted by BJ at 8:41 a.m.
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