Live like they were dyin

So yesterday was not the Rapture...which is, well, not all that surprising. I have a strong feeling that God has his own secret timing to throw the greatest divine block party; it says in Matthew 24 that no one knows when the end of the world is gonna happen except the Big Guy upstairs. However, all the hype did get me wondering: if yesterday would've been my last day (and I was 100% sure), what would I have done? Would I have hopped on a plane, traveled to New Zealand, and watched Jesus return from the countryside (which also happens to be the set of the Lord of the Rings?) Would I have spent my day in prayer to get closer to God? Or would I have eaten as many McDonald's shamrock shakes as possible in the 24 hour span?

On a more serious note, this past week there was a well-known and well-loved music teacher who, after having her husband pass away with cancer 5 months ago, needed to replace her failing pacemaker. After the surgery didn't go well and she was put into a coma, she passed away two days after the surgery. She was 50 years old and left behind a daughter who graduated from high school a week ago. As my own saddened heart and prayers go out to her daughter and those closest to her, I ponder my own mortality, and begin to see how much of a vapor my life is on this earth.

As the saying goes, I begin to think that I should "live every day like it's my last."

But something makes me pause at that statement. Don't get me wrong--it's got some great truth to it: Carpe diem, seize every moment, and savor every laugh, trial, and hug from loved ones. But what if we lived every day like it's more than just our last?

What if we lived every day like it was everyone else's last?

What if we lived like it was our mom or dad's last day? What if we lived like it was our professor's last day? What if we lived like it was our boss' last day? Even scarier: what if we lived like it was the last day of the person who seems to hate our guts...or the person who we detest?

What would that look like?

Is that possible?

There was a not-too-shabby Teacher called Jesus, who knew that his last day was drawing near. What did he do? Far from scarfing down shamrock shakes, Jesus (in Matthew) predicts his death to the disciples, then proceeds to give sight to two blind men, teaches 6 parables and multiple other lessons, shares an intimate supper with his closest disciples, then prays to His Father in heaven before being crucified.

In short, Jesus lives His last day the same way He lived His whole life: serving and pouring Himself into those around Him. His compassion, His passion, His heart...all freely given away. Focusing not on his own death, but instead on other's lives. Which is exactly what I want to do.

The reason that I don't want to live like today is my last day is because, honestly, too often I already do. Too often I do what I want to do, pursuing what I want to pursue, and concern myself with my life. Why? If it's truly Jesus who I follow, I want to live like it is the last dying day of everyone around me. I want to live like today is the last day to heal wounds of my relationship with another, like today is the last day to show my deepest love for my friends and enemies, like today is the last day to fervently pray for those who don't know about Jesus' love, like today is the last day to pour out myself like Jesus.

Maybe that means instead of flipping out at your parents after a long week in the house together, you cook dinner for them. Maybe that means instead of just saying to my friend "We should catch-up sometime," I actually do it and invest in the friendship that has too long been neglected. Maybe that means instead of screaming that the end-times are coming and that your non-Christian friends should repent, you show them the love of the amazing, life-changing God so they can begin to approach Jesus without shame or anger.

If it's our last day today, then so be it. But if it's someone else's last day, whether it's our best friend or the "outcast" we never talk to, let's try to give them the best darn last day someone could have. Let's try to love 'em all Jesus-like.

Freely we've received love, forgiveness, and healing from God...let us freely give it away.