Country music artist Tim McGraw wrote a song some years ago called "Live Like You Were Dying." The premise is that we often live our lives as if we have an infinite amount of time available and, as such, we don't give life or people our "all." We frequently hold back, hold out, or hold up. His advice: live your life as if you only have a short time remaining, and give yourself and the people in your life the very best you have to give.
This is a very convicting notion to me, especially in light of Easter. Jesus wasted no time in his earthly ministry because, well, he was living like he was dying! He had to "get busy" with life and create meaningful and deep relationships with people because he knew that his time was short. If he were going to make a lasting impression on people and leave a legacy, he couldn't treat life like an unlimited, renewable resource.
Naturally, we don't know the day or hour of our deaths like Jesus did. However, we do know that our time on this planet is finite. So, the matter of how we use each minute is important. How are you doing in this regard? For me, I have a lot of work to do. I too often spend my time on things that don't have any lasting significance or real meaning, and I don't often enough invest in people. Sure, there are areas where I know I'm doing God's work and making a difference, but there are still many areas where I live tangentially, exerting energies on selfish endeavors and leaving friends and loved ones in my wake. I guess I need to take a page out of Tim's book and love deeper and speak sweeter...and maybe even try to ride a bull named Fumanchu somewhere along the way. Whatever I do, though, I must stop taking life for granted and start living as if tomorrow I might be forced to say, "It is finished."
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