If I die tomorrow

Have you thought about death or dying any this week? My wife and I found out someone close to us has cancer. My wife spoke to him a few days ago and he said he cannot sleep at night because he imagines the cancer growing inside him. Death is not something we want to think about but it is something we will all face one day.

There is an old saying that goes - There are two things that are certain in life, death and taxes. I don't totally agree with that. I think the two things that are certain are death and judgment. The Bible is very clear on this. Everyone will die unless we are raptured away and everyone will face judgement, both Christians and non-Christians.

The decisions we make, the things we do and the things we say will all be laid out before God one day. There will be no excuses, no defense lawyers, no do overs. We get one shot at life and when it is over we will be held accountable for how we lived our life.

As I was thinking about this a song came to mind. It was not a popular song and when I mention it many of you will probably have no idea the group even recorded it. The song I am talking about is called "If I die tomorrow" by Motley Crue. Based on the lyrics it looks like the writer of the song is looking back on his life and wondering if he could have done anything differently or if he did everything he should have or wanted to do. (story continued below lyrics)

I wake up to find myself
After all these years
And where all the time has gone
Still seems so unclear
'Cause there's no one else
Since I found you
I know it's been so hard
You should know

It brings out the worst in me
When you're not around
I miss the sound of your voice
The silence seems so loud
'Cause there's no one else
Since I found you
I know it's been so hard
You should know

If I die tomorrow
As the minutes fade away
I can't remember
Have I said all I can say?
You're my everything
You make me feel so alive
If I die tomorrow

I spent all my life
Looking for a real sense!
I've got nothing to lose
One thing to prove
I won't make the same mistakes
Now I know
That everything will be ok
When I die tomorrow

If I die tomorrow
As the minutes fade away
I can't remember
Have I said all I can say?
You're my everything
You make me feel so alive
You're my everything
You make me feel so alive
If I die tomorrow

My hope is that when I do come to the end of my life I will not have to wonder these things. My hope is that I did say all I could say, that I did all I could have done. If we look at the life of Christ he said all he needed to say to say. The greatest questions the world has can be answered through Him. As he hung on the cross the last words he spoke were "It is finished!" - John 19:30 What a wonderful statement. He said all he needed to say and he did everything he needed to do. He knew his last day was coming, he knew he was born to die, he did not have to say "If I die tomorrow", he knew there was a day coming when he could say "When I die tomorrow!" Christ died after saying and doing everything the Father sent him to Earth to say and do.

We too have been given a task:

Matthew 28: 18-20 - 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Each day we are getting closer to our last day. Will we step out of this life saying I have said all I could say or will we repeat the lyrics to the song questioning the way we lived our life? The choice is yours and mine to make.