“Do you want to take a leap of faith, or become an old man, filled with regret, waiting to die alone?”
–Ken Watanabe, Inception
In James 4:14, James asks, “what is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” All throughout the Bible, we are reminded that life is short, like the lilies that bloom for a time, then whither away. While all this talk of mortality may seem a bit depressing, I believe it is good to remind ourselves of, because it is both motivational and encouraging…at least it should be.
To begin with, a reminder of our rapidly diminishing days should serve as motivation to take our life more seriously. In Matthew 5:16, Jesus tells us to let our light shine so people see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. Often times when we think of living a good life, we only think of the effect it has on our lives. We know that God wants us to live godly lives, so when we don’t we know we disappoint God. However, there is another aspect to this. When we fail to let our light shine, we fail to bring glory to God. We need to take our job of shining more seriously, because we only have a short time on this earth to bring glory to God.
Our mortality should also be an encouragement to us, because we know that our work on this earth is only temporary. In Philippians 1:22-23, Paul talks about his dilemma of desiring to die and be with the Lord, but wanting to stay and work for the Lord. While we are here on earth, we are to work hard for the Lord, but if we finish the course, then we know that God has a rest waiting for us in heaven.
In conclusion, don’t die an old man (or woman) filled with regret; use the time God has given you wisely. Don’t die thinking of all the things you could have done.
whollytrue 