You might often hear that you should live each day as if it were your last. But what does that really entail? What if today really were your final day on earth? Read on for insights from a fascinating post at YouthMinistry.com.
The oft-maligned band Nickelback had a hit titled “If Today Was Your Last Day.” The song is a clear reminder that even though we’d like to think we have a long time to live here on earth, no one really knows. We definitely have no guarantees.
So in light of that, Nickelback poses these great questions:
If today was your last day
and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you had?
Would you call those friends you’ve never seen?
Reminisce old memories?
Would you forgive your enemies?
Would you find that one you’re dreaming of?
Swear up and down to God above
That you’ll finally fall in love?
If today was your last day
So…what if today really was the end? How would you spend it?
How to Live Each Day As If It Were Your Last
Most of us assume we have all the time in the world. So we fritter and waste away the hours and days on mostly meaningless activities that really make no difference in the grand scheme of things.
That’s what Nickelback is getting at, and I think it’s worth contemplating. You don’t want to look back at the end of your life with the burden of regret. Oh yes, many people do. Instead of passing into eternity with a triumphant feeling of squeezing every drop of juice out of life, their souls are weighted. They lament all the “if only” and “why didn’t I?” flashbacks of life.
You know whose life didn’t end with regret? You know who modeled how to live each day as if it were your last? The Apostle Paul. Read and reflect on what is probably the last thing he wrote in the Bible:
As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:6-8)
Did you catch the parallels between Paul’s last words and “If Today Were Your Last Day”? They both have a clear statement of “I’m going beyond this culture’s annoying habit of wasting the days that I could have spent with passion and investment in things that last forever.”
No Regrets
Paul spent his days pouring out his life like a “drink offering” to God, because he knew two critical things. First, Jesus Christ will return—and can at any time—and call all true believers into his kingdom. Second, after his return will be a Judgment Day, when we will all give an account of how we spent our earthly time.
Those two facts became the engine and the fuel of Paul’s life. As a result, he wrote two-thirds of the New Testament, and God used him to spread the gospel throughout the world.
