Live well!

I awakened this morning thinking of death. Very cheery, isn't it? Just before going to bed I received a call that an acquaintance had died on Wednesday afternoon in a freaky accident. His death was tragic enough, but the years that preceded it were also tragic, marked by failure, at least to all external appearances. The man, who was about my age, lived with a lot of disappointment in his last decade of life. He left behind relationships without resolution, and a record that would be, at best, marked- incomplete. I don't want to imply that he was a bad man. He was an unfinished work, a man who appeared to fail to meet his potential in so many ways. The news that he was now in God's hands sobered me, made me think about the way I'm living today.

When I step into the Presence of my Lord - be it today, tomorrow, or 35 years from now - there are two things that I desire.

First and most important, I desire that Jesus, my Lord, will find my life complete and welcome me home with this greeting, "Well done, Jerry, enter the joy of my Presence."

Second, I desire that I leave behind a legacy of finished business - all relationships up to date and obligations met.

Achieving those goals requires that I live TODAY with purpose, not deferring the hard choices, the tough stuff, to another day! It demands selflessness, focus, and determination. The Bible talks about a life lived well this way - "You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally. I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself. " (1 Corinthians 9:24-27, The Message)

Believer, are you giving yourself to living well? Please do not answer that by saying, "I'm not doing anything that is terribly wrong." That's not enough!

Are you doing what is right, what is good, what is Christ-honoring?
Are you giving life your best efforts or just floating along on the currents of the stream?

Take a few moments to add it all up. Ask yourself, while inviting the Spirit of God to bring clarity to your thoughts, "if I were to die today, would there be a lot of dangling threads, disappointed people, words unspoken, obligations unmet?" Perhaps that strikes you as morbid. That's not my intention, but I know that mortality is 100%! The Bible is stark - "man is destined to die and then to face judgment."

Live well! How? "Love God totally... love others selflessly!" That's the whole thing in a phrase.
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Here's a thought to ponder today -

"He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much;
who has enjoyed the trust of pure women,
the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children;
who has filled his niche and accomplished his task;
who has left the world better than he found it,
whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul;
who has never lacked appreciation of Earth`s beauty or failed to express it;
who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best he had;
whose life was an inspiration; whose memory a benediction."- Anonymous