It’s not uncommon to hear people suggest that one ought to live each day as if it were his last. Poppycock. It’s not possible, and even if it were, it would be immoral. If I knew this was my last day on earth, I would not be sitting here writing a blog post for the handful of people who may peruse it. Would I spend my day teaching Bible classes, visiting church members, counseling junkies, or meeting with persons needing a pal rather than a pastor? I have already done that countless times, almost every day for the last 23 years. No, if I knew this was my last day on this earth, I would spend it with my family. I would want to read with my children, hold hands with my wife, and spend some time singing and praying the psalms.
You cannot live as if every day is your last day, nor should you try. Jonathan Edwards framed much better resolutions when he was a young man:
5. Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.
6. Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.
7. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.
9. Resolved, to think much on all occasions of my own dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death.
17. Resolved, that I will live so as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.
18. Resolved, to live so at all times, as I think is best in my devout frames, and when I have clearest notions of things of the gospel, and another world.
19. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if I expected it would not be above an hour, before I should hear the last trump.
50. Resolved, I will act so as I think I shall judge would have been best, and most prudent, when I come into the future world.
51. Resolved, that I will act so, in every respect, as I think I shall wish I had done, if I should at last be damned.
52. I frequently hear persons in old age say how they would live, if they were to live their lives over again: resolved, that I will live just so as I can think I shall wish I had done, supposing I live to old age.
It is possible, and entirely proper, to live each day in such a manner as you would not be afraid to live if it were your last day. I do not worry about standing before the Lord when I have spent the day preaching, teaching, counseling, visiting, and being spent on behalf of the brethren. We ought to aspire to live in a state of readiness for our death and judgment, but we cannot and should not make the same decisions each day we would make if we knew for certain that hour had arrived.
I have written before about The 100 Year Plan that I believe ought to guide covenantally minded Christians in thinking about life, family, ministry, and nations. But what if you knew you had only one year left to invest in that one hundred year plan? What if 2021 is the last year I have in this present world? How might I plan, pray, preach, and prepare those I love?
The one year template cannot be the only scale we use for thinking about life and labor. After all, if I knew I would die by the end of the calendar year, I would not enroll in further academic studies. But some people should, and it would be foolish not to do so based on the possibility that one might not live to complete the training. The one year scale must be balanced by the one hundred year perspective. We are always playing the long game. How I love my wife, pray for my kids, preach to my Church, and build in my community should be guided by what I hope my children’s children’s children will see, believe, and do.
What would I do if I knew 2021 would be it for me, and then I would depart to be with Christ? I would not waste so much of my time on so much of the foolishness that too frequently occupies me. There are certain books I would definitely read, and there are many others I plan to read that I would not bother cracking open. I would be more diligent about family worship. I would spend a lot more time with my wife. I would pray more earnestly about everything I pray about, and I would not bother praying about some of the things people think I should.
One more year would be clarifying in many helpful ways. The scale is long enough that you would still live your life. I would still be leading Bible studies, visiting the sick and elderly, and preparing to preach every Lord’s Day. But there would be no throw away efforts, no casual interactions, no projects intended only to pass the time. Preachers ought to preach in the knowledge that any sermon might well be their last sermon. They will preach better for it.
God is working on a one thousand generation project. None of us should plan for anything less than one hundred years. But what if you had just one year left to contribute to it? How much more earnest, intentional, and productive might you be in your prayers and labor? --JME
