June 18, 2020

Yesterday, I buried a friend.  Tomorrow, I will bury another friend.  I spend a lot of time in cemeteries.   I spend a lot of time burying people I love.  I spend a lot of time around death.  That’s not a bad thing.

The vast majority of people I bury are very dear to me.  I have had the privilege of being their pastor.  I know where they are going and that gives me peace.

What makes me sad are the people I bury that have no connection to the faith community.  In those instances, all I can do is trust in a loving God and realize I don’t have all the answers.

There is one thing I am sure of.  Unless Jesus comes first, I am going to die.  It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.

So if today is all I am assured, how am I going to use it?  Will I make the most out of this day?  Will I truly love?  Will I truly risk?  Will I truly give this day all that I am?  Will I follow God’s call no matter where it takes me?

If I do these things, then I will be truly living today.  To do anything else, would be to experience an anemic existence.  That’s not what God wants for any of us.

Hunter S. Thompson said, “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow!  What a Ride!”

As the sunlight begins to fill the eastern sky, each of us has a choice to make.  Do we live or just exist?  I am certain God wants us to choose to live life to its fullest.  And remember, we don’t have that long before our lives in this world are behind us.

This is what James meant by saying:  “Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”  (James 4:14)

I hope you choose to live your life in such a way, that when your pastor buries you, he/she can celebrate a life lived to its fullest.

Prayer:  Dear Gracious Heavenly God, please give me the strength and resolve to live this day as if it was my last.  Help me see what truly matters and what doesn’t.  Let me feel your presence, guidance, and joy.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.

I hope I live my life, the way the two friends that I bury this week, lived theirs.  Then my life will have truly mattered.

I hope you do the same.

I pray your day is filled with joy and laughter.
Tom Robbins