Live Like you were Dying

This is one of my favorite songs. Tim McGraw put so many of our thoughts into words. If we sould only live this way on a daily basis there would be less arguing, complaining and the constant struggle for more. There would be more time for caring, spending time with those we love the most and less worrying about things that don't matter. Day 4 reading in Purpose Driven Life sums this sentiment up well with Matthew Henry's words, “It ought to be the business of every day to prepare for our final day.”

Most of my life has been spent living for the here and now, not for the future. True freedom comes when we learn to live with eternity in mind and can let go of the unimportant. In college i read a small pamphlet called the Tyranny of the Urgent. It laid out the premise that life is filled with important tasks and urgent tasks. The important are those areas that bring life the most meaning, such as; participating in our children's play, holding hands with the one we love, slowing down and enjoying where we are and who we are with. Instead we allow the urgent to run our life. E-mails, text and phone calls dictate how we spend our days. The urgent scream for our attention, while the important sits in the background waiting patiently for our time. So many of us have succumb to Tyranny of the Urgent and when we reach the end of our life we are filled with regrets. If we will turn these issues around and put the important first and relegate the urgent to follow our schedule, we will reach the end of our life filled with wonderful memories and with the people we love.

I am trying to "live my life as if I were dying." Funny thing is we all are and just don't act like it. That's a thought for another day.

I'm Back and Better than Ever

What on earth am I here for? This has some tremendous implications for me now since my recent brush with death. Or should I say the "shock" of death. Having a heart attack has given me so much to think about. It has driven home that we have such a short time to live and made me ask; is what I am doing really important, really valuable? Am I just taking up space or making an impact? How do we determine the answers to these questions? Who decides what is important and what is not? Can we know?

I think we can. God has made it clear that it is not what we do, but who we are that is important. "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." He gives our life meaning. It is in how He designed us that causes impact, not how well we can do a cannonball in the pool of life. We are a masterpiece, created in His image, designed to fulfill His purpose, this is the answer. It is not about how much we do, but who we are that matters. You and I ARE God's masterpiece. When we live according to the way He created us we become a tool in His hand that can create. It is in this that we discover our purpose and meaning.