What If This Day Was Your Last?
But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?”
Luke 20:12
If this was your last day on earth, how would this day change from previous days? Would you spend it reading the Bible, in prayer, or with your fellow Christians and family? How would your priorities change if this day were your last? What would our lives be like if we lived each day as if were our last?
We all face our last day. Many face it in old age knowing the end is close. But what if we are not close to death? How would it be living each day if we were aware it might be our last day? Would we be less fearful of the world? Would we be more patient, forgiving, and better understanding? For Christians, living with the thought of ‘this day may be our last,’ changes our perspective and makes it a priority to be more Christ-like to everyone.
How do we come to the reality that today could be our last and then let that knowledge motivate us to live each moment for Christ? Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. (James 4:14) We must develop the mindset of living each day to the fullest for Christ and taking every opportunity to minister to lost souls. You may get only one chance to reflect Christ to someone, because you may never see them again. Make a strong effort to seek anyone in which to encourage, pray for, or just listen.
The Spirit may guide us in only one opportunity to bring Christ to someone. This awareness of the urgency to help lost souls find Christ may make us further aware that time is short. Our meeting with someone may be our only opportunity with them. Christ may return at any moment or the end may come through our deaths. I have ministered to people who have died shortly thereafter. Many times these were people in addiction to drugs or alcohol. I am grateful that I was able to minister to them by sharing with them the love of Christ.
Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure. (Psalm 39: 4-5) Live each day to the full for Christ, because our last day is near because our life is like a mist.
Today, keep in mind that this could possibly be your last hours and allow this thought to change your priority from this world to God. Live each moment for Christ with a Godly heart reflecting his love and wisdom. Living each day to the fullest for Christ means you are ready to leave this world whenever the Lord calls you.
Let’s pray: Lord, help me realize that my life is only a vapor. Don’t let me waste a minute by not listening and following the Spirit to do your will. This life is short, even if I live to be hundred years old. But with my last breath life eternal begins. Help me to live for eternity by storing my treasures up in heaven and not here on earth. In Jesus’ name, Amen.