It's not morbid to remember your mortality

Do you think about dying?  Cheery thought, isn’t it?  While I waited to go into the operating room for a procedure yesterday, I joked with Bev that if I didn’t make it, she could find all the information she needed in a file in my computer.   A joke?  Yes, but mortality is a fact that can help us to live a better life.  Every year I lead funeral and memorial services. Most of those who have died are mourned by friends and family who remember kindness, love, generosity, and all the little things that make life richer.  Occasionally I stand in a room where the prevailing attitude seems to be relief. Eyes are dry and words are few.

So, what does mortality produce in me?  

First is the proper perspective and a steady course of Christ-centered service. The realization that the only commendation that really matters is that of the Righteous Judge, the Lord Jesus.  At the moment I step into eternity, I hope to be welcomed home with this greeting, "Well done, Jerry, enter the joy of my Presence."

Second, I want leave a legacy of finished business - all relationships up to date and obligations met.  Paul counsels us to "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. … And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed." (Romans 13:8,11, NIV)

Third, knowing mortality helps us to live TODAY with purpose, not deferring the hard choices, the tough stuff, to another day!  "Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom." (Psalm 90:12, NLT)  Being aware of our mortality need not be morbid or fearful. 

If we are alive to Christ, we are already living eternally. For the Christian, death is an end, but not the end.  That moment, Paul says, is just a change of address.  Here’s the word from the Word - "We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." (2 Corinthians 5:7-11, NIV)

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?"  Live well! How? "Love God totally... love others selflessly!"
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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

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