Yesterday was my 24th birthday, and it’s a good thing my friends get more excited about my birthday then I do or else it would be no different then the rest of the 364 days in the year. I know that birthday’s are supposed to be a celebration of you and the start of another year of your life but as messages from my friends and family poured in on facebook or on my phone, I realized that there wouldn’t be much to celebrate if God hadn’t surrounded me with such a great community of friends and family and friends that are family.
Now, with that said, some of you might be making predictions in your mind right now…”He’s going to write on the importance of community and not doing life alone”…or…”He’ll probably talk about the goodness of God and allowing Him to live another year.” Those are both good ideas and I’ll probably write on them eventually. But that would be way too predictable for me. Let me give you a hint:
“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” – Psalm 90:12
In general there are a few subject that we try to steer clear of no matter who you’re talking to. One of those is death. No one likes to talk about death. And for good reason. Most of us have deep wounds or a hole in our heart that a deceased loved one has left. But if we’re truly honest with ourselves, it’s a little more selfish then that.
Death reminds us that we’re temporary. Everyone’s looming death, and the uncertainty of when, where or how it’ll happens does nothing more then confirm in our hearts that we’re fragile and that no matter how much we try to fight it…our life is not in our control. Solomon captured this perfectly when he says over and over in Ecclesiastes, that we are nothing but “a vapor”.
So how do we appropriately respond to death and its uncertain certainty? Do we live in a bubble of fear, helmets and anti-bacterial lotion? No, the Lord tells us not to fear more then any other command in the Bible. What about to overload yourself with pleasures and experience to get the most out of life because you can’t take it with you? If that’s you’re approach then you need to read what Solomon says about that in the book of Ecclesiastes. But he would use the words folly, meaningless and vapor a lot if you told him that to his face.
Most people think that their wedding day or the day, or the day they graduate college or the day their first child is born is the most important day of their life. I humbly disagree. Your last day is the most important day of your life. If God blesses you with a peaceful death surrounded by your loved ones. What will you’re final prayer to Him sound like? Will it be one of sorrow and repentance like Solomon or one of gratitude and praise to God like Paul?
Because of Jesus we have nothing to fear from death, but don’t forgot about it and don’t let it rule over you. Decide what you want you’re final prayer to be and live your life so that whenever the time comes you can pray that prayer. Personally at 24 years old, if I were to die today I could pray a prayer of gratitude and praise to God for all He’s done in my life. And I hope that I can continue to say that every birthday.
