Over the last few days, I have had circumstances happening
around me that have led me to really think deeply about my own mortality. A few weeks weeks ago, I received a phone call that let me know that the principal chief of
my tribe had died at age 55 from a heart attack. More recently, I
found out that another close friend of mine had recognized early signs he was
having a heart attack, and was able to arrive at a hospital in time to save his
life, he’s 42 years old. My dad suffered a massive heart attack in 2009, and
his life was saved because it happened in a hospital.—he’s still going strong
though. My mom died at age 61 in an inspirational fight she lost to stage four
cancer, high-blood pressure, diabetes, and congestive heart failure.
As each of these events have occurred, they have brought
into focus some basic truths to which I personally don’t like to give a lot of
thought. Every single one of us will meet the end of our days one day. When life events calls me to freshly consider
the bigger questions of our mortality and purpose, I do not place my focus in
pop-culture platitudes, but rather to ancient and timeless truths of the
scriptures. This life will end. Saul of Tarsus tells us that it is appointed
for each of us to die, and then after that comes the judgment. James, the
half-brother of Jesus of Nazareth, warns that our life is a vapor and that
tomorrow is not promised. One of the Hebrew Psalmists encourages us to learn to
number our days. And with all of these myriad warnings, and the daily reality
that there are people who are dying from various causes, I feel like we can
lose sight of this reality.
But the last few weeks, have been a megaphone for these
truths. So what does a person do with the reality that this life is temporary?
I find myself looking to the wisdom of scriptures, and considering the
application of the wisdom of the ages. In my estimation, the scriptures are a
guidepost for living life on purpose, in light of our earthly mortality, and in
light of the fact that each of us are, as the philosopher Dallas Willard has
said, “unceasing spiritual beings with an eternal destiny in God’s great
universe.” The ancient theologian Saul of Tarsus has also written an
exhortation for the ages to, “Make the most of the time because the days are
evil, and understand what the will of the Lord is.”
When I consider these truths, that my life is short, and
that I’m seeking to make the most of the time, I still find myself in need of
guidance. We live in a world FULL of chocies, at least most of us in the West
seem to have limitless choices. I’ve spent enough time in other areas of the
world (and honestly even here) to know that our circumstances can sometimes
limit our choices—but we ALWAYS have a choice of some type. So, again, I look
to ancient texts for truths that have stood the test of time. An Ancient Hebrew
Prophet laid it out this way, “What is required of you o man, but to do
justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”
These are powerful words, but we need more than wise words
to live by, we need to cautiously and humbly seek to apply these words and
embody them in our lives. The reason I encourage caution and humility is
because, if these words are meant to move us toward a life of purpose from the
perspective our own mortality, then we need to be willing to course-correct if
we may be mis-applying the wisdom. We need to be in a place to listen to the
feedback of others. We need to be open to suggestion, but at the same time, we
need to be resolute. If we aren’t resolved to a degree, then we will waffle and
waver from our purpose, and we will likely live a less fulfilling life.
So as I consider all of the events swirling around me, death
of a close friend, near death of another close friend, and the arrival to this
earth of our first child, I consider this text in the following ways.
Do Justice—This
is an active part of our life rhythm. In order to be able to do justice, I need
to wisely steward the limited resources I have, in the limited time I have, for
the good of others. This encourages me to pursue my own physical health, not so
much so I can live longer (although there is a correlation between physical
health and longevity), but more so I can do more in terms of justice. If I am
healthy and strong, I can give more of my resources to service. I can
volunteer. I can run and play with my child. I can help friends move, and it
just leaves me in a place where I have more to give.
Love Mercy—There
is so much wrapped up in this phrase. This phrase helps me to more fully be
present to all that is going on around me. If I am loving mercy, I am willing
to walk in forgiveness—I’m neither carrying bitterness toward others, nor
toward myself. There are times in our life where all of us “do injustice” to
ourselves and to others. There are times when we will have injustice done to
us. It is in those times we have an ability to love mercy and extend mercy
toward ourselves and others. Carrying bitterness, anxiety, and disappointment
are not the way of mercy, and they will rob us of our life long before we
breathe our last, if we let them. In this spirit, I strive to make space to
choose to believe the best of myself and of others, and to extend mercy rather
than enmity.
Walk humbly with your
God—This is probably the least popular aspect of this ancient nugget of
wisdom. Our pride screams defiantly at any form of humility. We want to do
things in our way, according to our time schedule, and according to our own
priorities—we do not like the thought of anyone or anything dictating how we
should spend our time, talents, and treasures. And yet, when we walk in
humility, we are able to have eyes to see our own shortcomings. When we walk
humbly with God, we are choosing to listen to the ONE voice that desires the best
for us, and has the clearest insight into how we can live the most fulfilled
and purposeful life, the wisdom and guidance of God nudges us to the best life
we can live. And by taking time regularly to listen and to respond, we can
truly make the most of our limited window of time on this earth.
I would never claim to execute these three principles
perfectly, but I believe they offer each of us guidance toward how we might
each live our lives in a way that truly “makes the most of the time because the
days are evil.” May we each strive to walk in a way that is mindful of our
mortality, and that savors and makes the most of each magical moment of our
lives.
