Would you?
What do think your initial reaction would be to your best friend in the world telling you that today might be your last day here?
You’d probably be incredulous to the notion, wouldn’t you? Do you think that you’d laugh? Would you dismiss his proclamation with the wave of a hand, as if you were shooing a fly? Chances are that you might even blow him off verbally, with a short, sweet, sarcasm-laced, “Yeah sure, whatever. Prove it.”
But what if your best friend was never one to kid around, and had never told you anything but the absolute truth? What if he made an oath on his life that he was telling you the truth, and you knew in your heart that he was?
So if you believed that today really might be your last day, would you do anything differently than you’ve done in all of the days leading up to this one? Would you try to make a difference in the world, not necessarily for yourself, but for your family and friends? Would you try to pack as much into today as you possibly could? Would you try to really make today count, because it’s your last shot? Would you savor every moment of your last day here? Would you try to love more, live more, laugh more, and experience more than you ever have because, well, just because? Well, would you?
The truth of the matter is that your friend would be exactly right! This could very well be your last day.
Consider the words of Paul to the Thessalonians:
For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. 1Thessalonians 5:1-2 NLT
Doubting the words of Paul? How about the words of Jesus?
"But the exact day and hour? No one knows that, not even heaven's angels, not even the Son. Only the Father knows.” Matthew 24:36 NIV
At this moment you may be thinking, “That’s the end of times, when the people destined to be with God just disappear. It’s the Rapture. It won’t just be my last day, but of a lot of people.” You know what? You’d be absolutely correct.
So what’s the big deal?
It’s that today may very well be your last day here; just yours. You see, we’re never promised tomorrow. God doesn’t owe you another day here; not one. Everything that you have, even the air that you breathe, is by His grace. In fact, it may be His plan for you to be in heaven tomorrow. After all, who, other than God, knows?
So what do you do? Walk around with a sense of impending doom, saddened and burdened by the awareness that you might not be around? Tell everyone goodbye? Lock yourself up in a dark room?
NO, you don’t!
You offer each day to God. You try to make a difference in the world. You live every day to the fullest. You make today count, leaving nothing on the table. You love, and you laugh, and you live, and you experience all the life has to offer you today, both good and bad, with an “attitude of gratitude.” God gave you this day; not because He had to, but because He wanted to. This day, and every day, is a gift from Him, a manifestation of His love for you.
The day that the reality of “we’re never promised tomorrow” sunk into this thick skull of mine, my perception of each day, and my value of each day, changed dramatically. If you can wrap your mind around the notion that you may not have a tomorrow, the manner in which you live out this one, and all that follow, will change as well.
