Live Ready

2020 has been a year like none other. We’ve been overwhelmed by a global health pandemic, racial injustice, political drama, an economic crisis…not to mention the events that have gone on in our personal lives. But as I reflect over this year, the one thing that astounds me the most is the number of deaths we’ve seen in this one year alone, whether it was due to the coronavirus, racial injustice, terminal illness, sudden death, natural causes, accidents, or anything else. We’ve seen people of all ages, all races and nationalities, all socioeconomic backgrounds, all health statuses…real people with families who loved them…pass away. And to think, some families have experienced the deaths of multiple family members this year…within minutes, hours, days, or months of each other. It’s been a hard and devastating year.

While I have not lost any immediate family members this year, my heart still aches tremendously for those who have been impacted by death. I can only imagine the indescribable pain they must feel. After reaching a point of overwhelming grief a few weeks ago, I couldn’t help but break down in tears. It all seemed like too much at one time, and if I’m honest, it doesn’t seem fair. In my moment of devastation, I called my Dad for some encouragement, and the words he spoke to me sparked this post. He encouraged me and assured me that it’s okay to hurt and cry, but he also reminded me of the importance of living our lives on this earth with intentionality and being ready to die at any moment. That stuck with me, and although it’s heavy, I am confident that this is a message I need to share with you.

THINKING ABOUT THE REALITY OF DEATH

“And just as it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment—” (Hebrews 9:27, CSB)

Death is not something we like to think about or talk about. It’s a heavy subject. It’s even hard for me to write about it in this post! For whatever reason, we would like to think that we have all the time in the world to live our lives, to accomplish our plans, to achieve our goals, and to right our wrongs. Some of us choose to live our lives on purpose, being intentional with everything we do. And some of us choose to live our lives however we please, thinking we have time to “live it up” and to experience all the world has to offer before we rein it in and settle down. And then there are some of us who live our lives on pause, allowing fear, guilt, shame, or past hurts to numb us and prevent us from moving forward with the lives we were destined to live.

But friends, as much as we don’t want to think or talk about it, death is a very real part of life, and we will all have to face it one day, whether we’ve achieved our goals and accomplished our plans or not. We see it clearly stated above in Hebrews 9:27. Death is unavoidable, and since we don’t know when our time to die will come, it’s very important that we live our lives with such intentionality and purpose that we are ready to die whenever our time comes.

THINKING ABOUT YOUR LIFE

How do you want to be remembered? When you die, what do you want your legacy to be? What impact do you hope to have made on the people you leave behind? What do you want them to remember about you? What words do you want echoed at your funeral? What words do you want written on your tombstone? Is the life you’re living now reflective of the impact you hope to leave behind when you’re gone from here? Are you wasting time doing things that don’t matter, buying things that have no real value, or hanging with people who don’t add value to your life?

How do you want to spend eternity? Yes, that very real time outside of time where our souls will live forever. What do you want the Lord to say to you when you stand before Him? Have you made a decision to accept Jesus Christ into your heart as your personal Lord and Savior? If you haven’t, what is holding you back from making the most important decision of your life? If you have, are you pursuing a lifestyle that honors Him by what you do? (None of us is perfect, but through the help of His Holy Spirit, we all have the ability to live a life that pleases Him.)

Yes, this has been a HARD year, and you may have even had a HARD life. We can’t pretend that our hurt doesn’t exist, and we need to grieve and process it. HOWEVER, it’s the last day of 2020, and WE ARE STILL HERE. That means that our lives STILL have purpose and value. So what will you do with the time you have left? What changes do you need to make today, right now, to ensure you spend eternity in Heaven and to ensure your life leaves the right impact once you leave this earth?

When your time comes to die, what do you NOT want to be left undone?

NOW is the time to get it together. NOW is the time to get serious. NOW is the time to make a change. NOW, not later, because LATER IS NOT GUARANTEED.

Live each day of your life ready to die. Live with such intentionality and purpose that you don’t have any regrets when it’s your turn to die. Even if you don’t get to accomplish all that you hope to, if you live your life with intentionality to honor God, you will have done all that’s REQUIRED of you. Live Ready!

A PRAYER FOR SALVATION

If you have not given your life to Christ, Romans 10:9 (CSB) says, “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” I invite you to pray this simple prayer to ask Him into your heart:

Lord Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner. I believe that You died for my sins, that God raised You from the dead, and that You are Lord. I invite You into my heart and ask that You forgive me of my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Help me to live my life every day to honor You. Thank You for saving me! In Your Name I pray. Amen.

Welcome to the family! Make sure to find a local church to plug into so that you can grow in your faith and come to know the Lord better.

SCRIPTURES TO HELP YOU KEEP ETERNITY IN VIEW

I want to end this post with scriptures to remind you to live with eternity in view. (All scriptures below are from the Christian Standard Bible (CSB).)

• John 5:28-29 – “Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good things, to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked things, to the resurrection of condemnation.”
  
• John 3:36 – “The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who rejects the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”
  
• Matthew 24:36-44 – “Now concerning that day and hour no one knows—neither the angels of heaven nor the Son —except the Father alone. As the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. For in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah boarded the ark. They didn’t know until the flood came and swept them all away. This is the way the coming of the Son of Man will be. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding grain with a hand mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore be alert, since you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.  But know this: If the homeowner had known what time the thief was coming, he would have stayed alert and not let his house be broken into. This is why you are also to be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
  
• Romans 14:12 – “So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
  
• 2 Corinthians 5:10 – “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”
  
• Ecclesiastes 7:2 – “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, since that is the end of all mankind, and the living should take it to heart.”
  
• Matthew 7:21-23 – “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’“
  
• 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 – “Don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be deceived: No sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, or males who have sex with males, no thieves, greedy people, drunkards, verbally abusive people, or swindlers will inherit God’s kingdom.”
  
• Galatians 5:19-21 – “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things—as I warned you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
  

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