Church of Our Redeemer

Live Like You Were Dying – “Embrace Today”

A sermon preached by the Rev. John Thomas Sheehan
February 10, 2008

Over the next 4 weeks, we are going to consider: “What would it mean to live like we were dying?” If you got word today that you only had 30 days to live, how would your life change?

How would you spend your time? How would it impact your relationships? How would you prepare for eternity? What would you do that you’ve never done before? How would God want you to live those 30 days?

Let me encourage you to make it a priority to be here every weekend during this series.

Each week there will be a Bible verse to meditate on. To make it easy, we have business cards with the weekly verse on them. Planting God’s word in your heart and mind is one of the most important things we can do.

To get things started I want you to listen to the song “Live Like You Were Dying.” As you listen, you will hear some ideas we will unpack over the next few weeks.

The truth is life is “terminal.” The question is not “if,” but “when.” The Lord has numbered our days, but he hasn’t told us. I don’t know the number of my days but, but I do know the number is one less than it was yesterday.

I also know that death is not the end – Jesus promised, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.” (John 11:25)

Jesus invaded history and his death and resurrection made it possible for us to have eternal life. That’s an incredible gift. But, here is the icing on the cake. Jesus not only came to give us eternal life, he also came to give me abundant life here and now.

Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)

So, what would it look like if you lived abundantly?

If we were really honest, some of us would have to admit that while our lives are full, but we’re not fulfilled. We feel overloaded and overwhelmed. We run fast, but we can’t outrun the emptiness we feel. We wonder if this is all there is?

So, how do we live abundantly? Paul gives us a place to start in his letter to the Romans.

“The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work He began when we first believed. We can’t afford to waste a minute, we must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don’t loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourself in Christ, and be up and about.” (Romans 13:11-12 The Message)

Paul gives us three challenges.

Live with a sense of urgency

Paul says “We can’t afford to waste a minute, we must not squander these precious daylight hours – time is running out.” Can you hear the urgency? Even though we know we have a limited time – some folks act as if we will be here forever.

We can be lulled into self-deceit. I just wonder how many people get to the end of life; look over their shoulder, and wonder, “what happened?” So many unfulfilled dreams, so many lost opportunities, so much left undone, so many regrets.

“Someday” may be the most dangerous word in the English language. Many of us suffer from the “someday syndrome.” Someday I’ll make things right with my mom. Someday I’ll take that trip. Someday I’ll have more time for the kids. Someday I’ll talk to my friend about Jesus. Someday I’ll go back to school. Someday, (you fill in the blank).

What’s that thing you have never gotten around to? The thing you sincerely plan to get around to it. The problem with “some day” is that it can rob us of “this day.”

We are prone to procrastinate, aren’t we?

Let me make this perfectly clear. Living with a sense of urgency doesn’t mean living faster or busier. Frantic does not equal urgent. To live with a sense of urgency means to live with an awareness that you aren’t promised “Some day.” It means being alert to the fact that the clock is ticking. Life is fragile, uncertain, and in so many ways, it’s out of our control.

No matter how careful you are; no matter how good your car’s safety equipment is; no matter how much you “play it safe,” there is no guarantee.

The past is gone. We can’t relive or retrieve it. We all know people who constantly live in the past. They are always looking in the rear view mirror. As followers of Jesus Christ, we must learn to let God’s amazing grace and mercy cover our past. Let it go. Tomorrow is an unknown – it’s not promised or guaranteed.

One day Jesus was talking about people who constantly fret about “tomorrow.”

He said, “Can all your worries add a single hour to his life? "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. And yet not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? (Matthew 6:27-30)

So, if our past is covered by God’s grace and our future is covered by God’s care, where should we live? We should live in the here and now – because that’s really all we can do.

David writes in Psalm 118 verse 24: “This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.”
So, the first challenge of this series is to “embrace today.” We need to seize the gift of this day. We need to live in the moment.

It means doing what you can today because tomorrow is not promised.

I want us all to make a commitment together. I would like to declare the next seven days as a “No regret” week. When we come together next Sunday – I want us to be able to say, “I didn’t live in the past. I didn’t worry about the future. I embraced each day as a gift. I didn’t take life for granted this week. I didn’t take people for granted this week.” Wouldn’t it be awesome if that were our testimony next Sunday?

Live with a sense of eternity

Let’s go back to Romans 13. Paul says, “The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. We can’t afford to waste a minute”

While we need to learn to embrace today, we must never think that “today” is all there is. A lot of folks (even Christians) live like there is nothing beyond the grave. In fact, most of us are so occupied with the good life – that eternity rarely crosses our mind.

Paul pleads with us to “wake up,” for the coming of our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. What does he mean when he says “the coming of our salvation is nearer now”?

The Bible talks about our salvation in the past, present, and future tense. There was a moment in the past when I received Christ as my Savior. I was saved. But the Bible also says that I am “being” saved which is present tense. Salvation isn’t just an historical event, it’s living, dynamic and active in my life today. But, the Bible also talks about my salvation in the future. It’s the idea that my salvation will one day be completed when I am in the presence of Jesus. Then, I will no longer struggle with sin and will be living in my glorified body.

So, Paul is saying that the full and glorious completion of our salvation is closer today than it was yesterday. Implicit in Paul’s words is a warning. You are rushing headlong toward eternity. You are terminal and what a tragedy it would be for you to not be prepared. It’s in this life that you prepare for eternity. There is no do over after death.

The Bible is absolutely clear that to be prepared for eternity, you must personally receive the gift of salvation made possible by Jesus’ death on the cross. If you have never taken that step of faith – let me encourage you to do that today.

Paul is also reminding us that, while we ought to live with a sense of urgency, this world isn’t our home. The Bible says that we are pilgrims on this planet.

There is an intriguing story from the life of Winston Churchill. When Churchill was making plans for his funeral, he asked to be laid in state in the heart of London at St. Paul’s Cathedral. He requested that his casket be placed under the massive dome in the center of the Cathedral. Churchill then requested two trumpeters be stationed on each side of the balcony, that circles the dome. It was his wish that at the close of the service the trumpeter on one side would play taps. And when he was finished the trumpeter on the other side was to play reveille, the wake up call. What a grand picture of the reality that when we are laid to rest after this life, we awaken to a life in eternity.
We literally will live happily ever after.

Paul writes “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)

So, what would it look like for you to fix your eyes on the eternal? Are you spending all your time chasing after things that will wear out, go out of style, break down, collect dust, and ultimately end up in the dump? Our world makes it hard to focus on eternity. Every commercial or magazine ad fuels my insatiable appetite for “more.” What would it look like if we were less pre-occupied with the stuff of this life?

Paul challenges us to: 1) Live with a sense of urgency and embrace today. Live in the moment and see today as a gift from God. And, he also challenges us to 2) Live with a sense of eternity.

To remembering that this life is not all there is.

We must make preparation in this life for our life in eternity.

There is one final challenge in this passage…

Live with a sense of priority

If you really only had a month left to live, how would your priorities change? How would you spend your last 720 hours?

The first two challenges inform the challenge to live with a sense of priority. Let me try to explain. When I live with one eye on eternity and one eye on the gift of “today,” then I can really begin to establish my priorities. I am able determine, what I should do, where I should spend my time, and how I should behave.

Paul challenges us with these words, “So don't live in darkness. Get rid of your evil deeds. Shed them like dirty clothes. Clothe yourselves with the armor of right living, as those who live in the light.” (Romans 13:12)

I like the word picture that Paul uses. In order to live like we were dying, we have to “take off” wrong living and “put on” right living. We are called to change.

It requires a decision. It requires effort. It won’t happen by accident.

Paul doesn’t give us a lot of specifics in this passage. So, I want to suggest a couple of specific ideas that I believe will be helpful for living in the 21st century.

First, let’s talk about things we need to “take off”…

Earlier when I quoted John chapter 10 verse10 – where Jesus declared that he came so that we might have an abundantly life, I left out the first part of the verse – in which Jesus says: “the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” Most of us can look back over our lives and identify “thieves”( things), that have stolen the abundant life from us.

In order for us to live like we are dying, we need to have clear priorities and we need to “take off” the things that keep us from living abundantly.

Here are a few changes most of us can make:

“Take off” our frantic pace of life

Hurry is an enemy of the abundant life. In our rush to accomplish, achieve, and live life to the fullest, we rob ourselves of some of life’s richest moments.

We live in an age of continuous activity that consumes our time and attention but cannot satisfy the deepest longings of our souls. The badge of busyness is one that we wear with honor, but in reality it is a curse to the health of our souls and relationships.

Busyness is not so much about the length of our “to do” list or the number of meetings on our calendar. It is a state of mind and the disposition of our soul. We have a hurried spirit.

I believe that if we knew we were dying, we wouldn’t speed up, we’d slow down. We would “put off” some things that clutter our lives. We would slow down to enjoy, those things that really matter. I have seen this demonstrated over and over. When someone in a family is hospitalized somehow folks are able to push the pause button on everything else.

During the typical week the words of Psalm 46 verse 10, frequently come to mind: “Be still, and know that I am God.” Jesus always found time to be still. Martin Luther is quoted as saying, “I have so much to do today that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” Speed is the enemy of intimacy; intimacy with God and with the people we love.

That’s the reason God gave us the command to observe a Sabbath. Sabbath is a time to “be still” here there is room to pay attention to the still small voice of God. And It is desperately needed for fatigued and frazzled believers today.

So, how about it? Slow down. Don’t constantly look at your watch. Don’t fill every minute on your calendar. What’s “robbing” your time and life? I want to challenge you to take a real hard look at this. In order to live like you were dying, you will have to ruthlessly eliminate the unimportant.

“Take off” your frantic pursuit of the good life

I wonder how many people get near the end of their life and have a moment like this. It’s early in the morning and you can’t sleep. So, you put on a pot of coffee and sit alone in the dim light at the kitchen table. Instead of thinking about the days’ activities ahead, you begin to reflect upon your life in the past. And it’s like you’ve popped in a DVD and you begin to see different seasons of your life. You’ve worked hard and you tried your best to provide for your family. In many ways, it’s been a good life. Yet, one thought haunts you. You wish you had taken more time for relationships and less time for “things.” You have exchanged so much of your life to acquire, purchase, and possess and now, all that stuff just doesn’t matter. On the balance sheet of life, possessing stuff doesn’t add up to much.

After we’ve taken things off”

We can “Put on” more time for relationships

Slowing down allows us to pay attention to relationships. After all, people are eternal and our relationship with God is eternal. So, if we you are going to focus on the things that lasts, focus on your relationship with God and with others.

Jesus was such a great example of this. He spent large blocks of time nurturing his relationship with his Heavenly Father and he paid attention to the people in his world.

No one has ever had the kind of people vision Jesus had. Jesus noticed an inconspicuous tax collector sitting in a tree. He saw a blind man sitting by the side of the road. He paid attention when a woman desperate for healing who reached out and touched the hem his robe.

There are people out there waiting to be noticed. Every day you pass people who smile, shake your hand, and make small talk, but inside they are dying for someone to really pay attention to them. Here is the saddest part; some of those people are the people in our families.

If I knew I was dying, I’m certain I would make time for some longer and deeper conversations with the people I love. There are things I would want to make sure didn’t go unsaid. Some of us have reduced communication in our marriages to managing tasks and schedules. Who will pick up the dry cleaning? What time will we meet for dinner? Who is taking the kids to soccer practice? Trouble is – we don’t know how much time we have.

Don’t miss the chance to sit down with your son or daughter and let them know how you feel. Don’t miss the chance to sit down and spend time with your parents or your brother or sister.

In the spirit of “living with a sense of urgency,” let me challenge you. This week, how will you make relationships a greater priority? Don’t let your good intentions turn to painful regrets.

You see, living like you were dying is the most liberating way to live. You are free to stop chasing after all the stuff that doesn’t matter…you are free to stop living for the approval of others…you are free to not conform. Because you are living with an eternal perspective and you’re clear about God’s priorities for your life.

Living like you were dying is…

More about today, less about tomorrow.

More about people, less about possessions.

More about God’s priorities, less about my plans.

More about the eternal, less about the temporal.

The clock is ticking. You don’t get a second shot at today. So, let’s commit to living a “No regret week.”