In Chapter 2 of Chasing Daylight, Erwin McManus writes about a conversation with his friend Joe White.
Joe has been diagnosed with terminal cancer…(In the conversation) He was clear that today might be the last day he had to live. I could live under the delusion that today is just one day of many still to come. The gift of his cancer was the value of today.
I’ve heard it asked several times, what would you do if you had 30 days to live? 30 days to live still gives enough time to procrastinate. What would you do if you knew that today could be the last day that you lived?
What could we do as a community of believers if we approached everyday as if it were our last one? What could we do as individuals, if that was our focus? Would we fix that broken relationship? Share Christ with that lost family member or friend? Would we set out to fulfill that dream that we never took the initiative to conquer? Would we spend a little more quality time with our family? Would we (fill in the blank) ________________?
How much further could the mission of Christ be furthered if we simply lived like this was our last day to live? Would we truly choose to live or would we choose to sit back and exist for one more day? There are some dreams that I want to see happen, things God has spoken to me about that I want to obey Him on, but I have been sitting back and waiting for “the right timing” to do it, but what if I sit back too long? Could my delusion of another day lead me away from seeing those things ever accomplished?
How about you? Are you living with the delusion of another day? Or, are you living today as if it very well could be your last day? If you are reading this, you have been gifted the value of a day, what are we going to do with that gift?
I close with this challenge from Erwin…I think it sums this up pretty nicely:
Wake Up! Get out of bed. God wants to change the world through your life if you’ll just do something.
I personally don’t know if I have 30 seconds or 30 days left to live, but I do know that I am going to live each and every moment as if it’s my last. There are 525,600 minutes in a year…moments…what will you do to measure yours?
C.S. Lewis stated that “Die before you die. There is no chance afterwards”. Therefore to live your next 30 days is a choice. You can run from darkness or you can run into it and face whatever life throws you. It is the power to choose that will add dignity to you and give you the ability to transcend any circumstances. Choices are never easy.
I lost someone extremely close to me, someone that I wished I had 30 seconds left with to let him know I loved him and that I finally know our God. 30 seconds in which to tell this man that all he prayed for came true. But I can’t turn back time. But, I will live my life without regrets, without what ifs, and without could haves. And I can only do this through God’s grace.
If it had not been for someone willing to spend time on me, then if this were my last 30 days, I would have left this life headed straight to hell. Was it timing? Was it a divine moment? You bet it was and more. It was absolutely the best thing that has happened to me in forever.
Life is no longer about waiting, sitting back and seeing if I have the energy to do, or if I have the want to, but rather about I need to. There are people out there, just like me, that are wondering around trying to make sense of the world around them, religion, and probably questions of where am I going? Life is about sharing every moment in everything I do to the glory of God, so that one soul that needs OUR God, will find Him. Choices.
Life is indeed a gift. Not to be taken lightly, but to grab with both hands and say, “Okay God, what would you have me to do today?” I will do all I can until God tells me to come on home….A wise man once told me this… “But above all else, find yourself and what you need in life. Free your heart from hate, free your mind from worry, live simple, give much more and expect even less. And above all never turn your back on the one that gave you life”. Big words for the next 30 days. And even bigger implications. Choices.
As for Erwin McManus, my closing thoughts are these, sometimes we need to make a difference in the world. “Maybe there is a touch of insanity to think that you or I could really make a difference, knowing who we are, that we could somehow change the course of human history. If it’s normal to wake up in the morning and just try to make it through the day, than I vote for abnormality, I chose insanity”. I also chose insanity. I have to be willing to go on that ledge without a safety net. To take a risk on someone or something, whether I know them or not.
And it’s because someone chose to be insane and be abnormal and get out of bed and was willing to do something and believed in the impossible that made a difference in my life and essentially changed the course of this persons human history. They took a risk, and the reward…I found Jesus!
Thanks for this. It reminds me of what I often take for granted: Today is a gift, but it’s mine to do something with.
I honestly believe that God does want to change the world in a certain way, and I feel called to do it. Thanks for this encouragement to step out there and be bolder about it !
Thank you for sharing. And Polly, welcome to the family. I like you have lost loved ones with which I wishe I had 30 more seconds to talk to. But God gives us his grace to make it through. I was saved about 8 months ago by starting to read a blog much like this one. Oh what a difference they make. I also chose to be insane, if it means that one more person can join in the family. And Nick, your words are great. Keep it up. Can’t wait for the next chapter.