In The End

It’s been said that we should live each day like it’s the last day of our lives. But is that really sound advice? What would happen if everyone did that? The likely scenario would be that the people of the earth would make hundreds if not thousands of irrational decisions. Because the reality is that we are a race of people who will fall back on our needs and desires when pressed. It’s been that way since the beginning. At the Garden of Eden, sin entered the world and we’ve been dealing with the effects of it ever since. It’s a constant cycle that has put a weight on us throughout the history of the human race. We each have a story to tell. All of us have experienced pain throughout our lives. Or maybe we’ve put aside dreams and impulses because we have so much life in front of us. So if someone asked you to live like there’s no tomorrow, would you make the best choice? Or the one you’ve held back?

But what if there was a better way? What if in the end, the choices that you’ve made day in and day out, do indeed matter? The truth is, there is a better way because of one person. Jesus Christ paid the price so that we might live. Scripture tells us that the end is coming. Jesus will return and we need to be ready for it. Not so that we hurry up and do all the things on our bucket list just in case it’s tomorrow. But so that we weigh the choices of the day in light of who God is calling us to be. The author of Hebrews says it this way, What about us, then? We have such a great cloud of witnesses all around us! What we must do is this: we must put aside each heavy weight, and the sin which gets in the way so easily. We must run the race that lies in front of us, and we must run it patiently. We must look ahead, to Jesus. He is the one who carved out the path for faith, and he’s the one who brought it to completion. He knew that there was joy spread out and waiting for him. That’s why he endured the cross, making light of its shame, and has now taken his seat at the right hand of God’s throne (Hebrews 12:1-2 NTFE). 

We don’t know what the future holds for us. We aren’t guaranteed tomorrow. But we know who holds the key to the future. The race we run isn’t a sprint trying to get to the end as fast as possible. It’s a marathon that’s run patiently with our eyes on the One who is and was and is forevermore. He endured the cross so that we might live. So that we might live in a way that brings glory to His name on the path of faith that He’s carved for us. Don’t rush it thinking you’re running out of time. In the end, run patiently.