Altar Call –
Opelika-Auburn News
May 25, 2008
What
if you knew tomorrow would be your last day to live?
Recently thousands of people have died
suddenly. Vicious tornadoes claimed the lives of several persons in the
Such news makes any normal person
think, for at least a fleeting moment, about dying. Actually death is always on
our minds, whether consciously or unconsciously. We know we are going to die.
We simply do not know when. The reality of death lurks like a dark shadow in
the vast corridors of our psyche.
More than once in recent years younger
pastors have invited me to preach “the one sermon you would preach if you knew
it would be your last sermon.” Frankly that is a difficult assignment. And, at
my age, I realize all the time that my next sermon may indeed be my last. The
thought, of course, motivates me to do my best before my “stammering tongue
lies silent in the grave.”
A tender story is told about the
remarkable Pope John XXIII who died in 1963 at age 81. His personal physician
in tears broke the news to the pontiff that he would soon die. The Pope
comforted his doctor and replied quietly, “Do not weep for me. My bags are
packed and I am ready to go.”
That story reminds me of the little
girl in
The older some of us get, the more we
read the daily obituary in the newspaper. We may laugh and say, “I just want to
make sure my own obituary is not in the paper today.” But even if we joke about it, we know that
one day our name will be in the obits.
For the moment I do not want to joke
about dying or to be morbid about it. Rather I want to raise this question:
Would I do anything differently if I knew that tomorrow would be my last day to
live?
Rolf Garborg tells in one of his books
about the last days of his father’s life. The old man shared with his family one
day that he had been dreaming a lot lately about being in heaven and seeing old
friends who had died. He even remarked to his son that he really “longed to be
with the Lord.”
That night he enjoyed a bowl of ice
cream, watched the evening news, and gave his wife a tender hug. He told her
how much he loved her, breathed out a sigh, and died. Without a struggle or
fanfare, he was gone. His sudden death underlines how quickly one’s life may
end.
Garborg writes tenderly of the
tapestry of his father’s life. He speaks of each little word being a thread in
the tapestry of one’s life. Each attitude we cultivate is a stitch in the
tapestry we are weaving. Slowly but
surely the final pattern can become something beautiful as it did for the old
man.
The son pays tribute to his father for
the special way he had learned to “bless” his family. With words of hope,
encouragement and affirmation, he had for years practiced the “blessing” of his
family. He refrained from condemnation. So positive and loving was his attitude
that when he spoke, he was always blessing his family members. He had learned
what some of us are slow to discover – that criticism hurts and seldom ever
helps anyone.
If I knew I had but one more day to
live, I would try very hard to bless my loved ones with a positive, caring
spirit like that of the old man. I would try, with words and deeds, to be a blessing. I would ask forgiveness
for all the harsh, stupid, and unkind things I had ever said to them. And I
would do my best to speak words of love and affirmation until my last breath.
What would you do if you knew that
tomorrow would be your last day to live? It is a good question to ponder. And
no doubt we would live a more beautiful life if we lived each day as if we had
but one more day to live.
Live life to the fullest every day.
Enjoy every moment. But remember it could end tomorrow. + + +