What if you were to live today?

I can't tell you how many times I have heard or read the question, "What if you were to die today?" It is usually followed by questions about eternal destiny, heaven, and hell. It has been used for years to scare people into "making a decision for Jesus."

Now, don't get me wrong. I think that eternal life is very real and the promises of God are very true. However, do you think that all God is concerned about is getting us into heaven? Of course, people will argue that the purpose of living a good life now is so you can have eternal life with God. While there is some truth in that statement, I don't really think God wants to bribe us into being good now so we can have eternal life later.

What if, instead, eternal life was the continuation and completion of the kingdom of God that is already unfolding in our midst? What if our good works weren't just for our benefit later, but, more importantly, for the benefit of others now? What if we didn't concern ourselves so much with where we will be later, and focused instead of who we are now?

As followers of Jesus, maybe we should spend a little more time looking in the mirror and asking ourselves some important questions. Jesus himself said, "And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye." (Matthew 7:3-5)

Before we go around asking everyone else, "What if you were to die today," maybe we should start by asking ourselves, "What if you were to live today?"

shine!
Jason