The End Game

“Jesus said, ‘No procrastination. No backward looks. You can’t put God's kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day.’” (Luke 9:62 MSG)

As part of a meditation, focusing on prioritization, we were to ask ourselves "What would you do if this were your very last day?" The idea was that we could then remove those things from our ToDo list that weren’t really necessary, that were busy work.

The idea being that a lot of the things that we fill our day with, other than the necessities of life, are things we have control over, and mixed in with those things we want and need to do, are those things that are only busy work or fillers.

So just what exactly would I do today, if I knew it was my last day? More importantly perhaps what if I knew it was my last week, my last month, my last year to live? Everybody’s list will be different, because we are all different people, living different lives in different circumstances and with different core values. But in one way our lists would all be similar, they would contain those things about which we are passionate, that give us a feeling of fulfilment, and most importantly that answer the question of who we are.

Ask yourself what you would do today if it were the last day your life, and then see if any of those things are on your ToDo list. I suspect, that a lot of those things that we would do today are exactly the ones that we tend normally to put off to another day.

Being at the age and stage of life myself where I’m finding energy not as abundant as it was just a few short years ago, I have been struggling with my ToDo list not only daily, but also monthly and yearly. It is a challenge to fit everything in, while leaving space for those extras that are bound to come up come up. However when approached with the question “What would you do if this were the lastly…week…month….year of your life?” it does become easier to make these decisions. it is easier for a number of reasons, but mainly because the decision doesn’t have the immediacy of a 24-hour time limit. But easier, doesn’t necessarily mean that is the way to go!

It does relate to what the writer of Luke has Jesus say in the quote I opened with. Whether or not it actually ever was said by Jesus doesn’t really matter. What matters is, that for the author of this gospel, it expresses his understanding of what Jesus’ teaching was. Jesus taught that we should live in the present. And if we live in the present, we do those things that belong in the present, not counting on there being a tomorrow.

So my challenge is that you ask yourself each day, “Is this what I want to do with the last day of my life?”

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