I have been thinking about this assignment all day and come to the conclusion that I can't quite answer it. I don't know. What would you do differently if you knew it was your last day in this world?
These are the kinds of things which stack up on my to-do list, pushed aside in favor of more pressing tasks. But they are small, and while they occasionally create some stress, they really do not cause any regrets.
Thinking now, in this life, the kinds of things I would wish I had done differently if I realized that my life were ending very soon?
That I had a more long-term vision in my parenting rather than making decisions and issuing consequences out of the frustration of the moment.
That I had focused more on my writing, inculcated more of a habit and respected it more than as just a hobby.
That I had been more patient, more kind and more bold with respect to my faith. And that I had taken more time to just be.
But then shifting focus to the other side, to standing before God on the day of judgment?
Suddenly I see very clearly that these are my dreams, my plans and where I fall short in my own eyes. On that day, every knee shall bow, every tongue confess...and regardless of what I check off my to-do list or accomplish with my last hours, the distance between my best intentions and God's expectations will remain a gaping chasm.
And I think my greatest regret will not be that I didn't do more, but that I didn't trust more.
This post is part of the Blogger Friend School. You can visit more sites by following the links posted there.
We only have today. Should God take you today, have you accomplished everything that you wanted to, needed to?It is almost midnight, and I need to finish a lesson for AWANAs tomorrow. It is almost the 29th and I have an article due on the 31st. We didn't get to science or history today. I need to finish cleaning the oven but that isn't likely to happen tonight. Or even tomorrow.
These are the kinds of things which stack up on my to-do list, pushed aside in favor of more pressing tasks. But they are small, and while they occasionally create some stress, they really do not cause any regrets.
Thinking now, in this life, the kinds of things I would wish I had done differently if I realized that my life were ending very soon?
That I had a more long-term vision in my parenting rather than making decisions and issuing consequences out of the frustration of the moment.
That I had focused more on my writing, inculcated more of a habit and respected it more than as just a hobby.
That I had been more patient, more kind and more bold with respect to my faith. And that I had taken more time to just be.
But then shifting focus to the other side, to standing before God on the day of judgment?
Suddenly I see very clearly that these are my dreams, my plans and where I fall short in my own eyes. On that day, every knee shall bow, every tongue confess...and regardless of what I check off my to-do list or accomplish with my last hours, the distance between my best intentions and God's expectations will remain a gaping chasm.
And I think my greatest regret will not be that I didn't do more, but that I didn't trust more.
Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ's, even so are we Christ's.
--2 Corinthians 10:7
--2 Corinthians 10:7
This post is part of the Blogger Friend School. You can visit more sites by following the links posted there.
