Perhaps Today By Cortney Donelson

(Source: Unknown)

Matthew 24:36 (ESV)

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

If you could take a genetic test and determine the probability of your developing a disease that has killed one-third of your family by age 55, would you take that test? It’s a very real scenario – one faced by someone very close to me. 

For many, it is a very difficult question to answer. Some would say they don’t want to know because if the test were to come back positive, they would feel the stress of knowing when they might die. Others would want the test done immediately so they would have all the information available to them so they could live the life they would want to live before leaving this world. 

I am not going to share my opinion about whether or not I would get the test or my motives behind my choice. My goal is to help us all think about the life we are currently living – our one and only life. 

I want my life to mean something. I want it to have purpose, one bigger than myself. I think this desire is common and maybe even innate. I have talked with so many others who are also seeking something bigger than themselves. Many of us want to leave a legacy that encompasses more than acquiring material possessions or reaching the pinnacle of individual success, power, or fame. Those who have reached those heights will tell you that it does not satisfy many of the longings in their hearts and souls. Yet, that seems to be how so many of us are living our daily lives. 

If you knew you had one year left on this planet, what would you change? Would you work less? Would you travel more? Who would you spend your time with and what would you do? Would the words you say change? Do you ever wonder how others might remember you?

As I thought about these questions, I realized this: What if I took that genetic test and it was determined I had the marker for this horrific disease. I will be 39 years old this month. I might have10-15 years left. What if I realize I am not living my one and only life the way I perhaps could or should be living it, so I decide I need to make some changes. They are going to be really hard changes. I might leave a secure and busy job to spend time with family, but then I worry about my (and their) financial stability. I may decide that I want to leave a legacy of philanthropy and service rather than stock options and a too-big house, so I think about how I can volunteer or give my time or money to help others. I plan to change all these things, but I think this is a lot to change. I have some time. I have 10-15 years left! So, I do nothing and convince myself it’s because I am too busy to change anything right now. To make matters more complex, it’s downright scary to go against society’s expectations. So, I tell myself I will modify my life next year, after one more promotion or after twelve more house payments. A month later, I step off the curb and get hit by a bus. 

The irony is a dark one. We are not guaranteed one more day. No one knows when his or her life will end. Even if a dozen physicians tell us that we have weeks or months to live, only God knows when He will call us home. There is something else no one but God knows…

Several years ago, I was studying the book of Revelation. I was fascinated by the end of times and the second coming of Christ … I still am. In fact, I wrestled with the idea of getting a vanity license plate that read PRHAPS2DA. Perhaps today. Unfortunately, the DMV believed my crafty statement was one letter too long. 

The message I had wanted to ride around and tell the world around me was the one Matthew wrote about in his Gospel: “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” That day we are referring to is the one when all this world’s suffering, all the pain, all the tears, all the worries, all the evil, all the sin, all the hurt, all the masks, all the disease, all the natural disasters, all the lies … everything comes to an end. It’s the day when Jesus returns to claim His Kingdom and perfect goodness and justice reigns. We have no idea when it will be. Perhaps today.

Whether we are diagnosed with a terminal illness, step off a curb in front of a bus, or the trumpets sound and Jesus comes back riding on top of the clouds as the Bible promises, "And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory (Mark 13:26, NASB),” not a single one of us knows how long we have here. Perhaps today.

There is no greater fear of mine than the one where I waste my one and only life on trivial priorities that will be forgotten or become irrelevant just days after I am gone. There would be no greater regret than for me to focus all my energy, time, money, and love on our culture’s definition of success. When I work, I want to work for God, not for man. When I serve, I want to be the hands and feet of Jesus, not satisfy my own selfish ambitions. When I love, I want to do so through words and actions that have a depth of meaning that will last generations because my children will learn from how I love others and model those words and behaviors as they grow up. This is the stuff that matters, the decisions that affect our eternities. 

So, when I wake up, I coach myself to put aside my agenda for a few minutes. I pray for God’s direction for the day. This is what I have discovered: When He nudges me to give more, I hoard less. As I listen more, I talk less. When I enjoy my family more, I rush around less. When I only work within the boundaries of strategically planned business hours, I stress less. When God prompts me to spend quality time with others, I feel less alone. When I think of myself less often, my eyes are opened to all the ways I can help others. As I pray more, I fear less. And, when I follow God, I regret nothing.

Last year, the Huffington Post published an article called “The Habits of Supremely Happy People.” In that story, Kate Bratskeir wrote, “In his 2004 Ted Talk, Martin Seligman describes three different kinds of happy lives: The pleasant life, in which you fill your life with as many pleasures as you can, the life of engagement, where you find a life in your work, parenting, love and leisure and the meaningful life, which ‘consists of knowing what your highest strengths are, and using them to belong to and in the service of something larger than you are.” I don’t want to lead a pleasant life and find myself at the end with only fun memories. I want to use my God-given gifts and find my God-ordained purpose to change the world for the better.

Never mind a 10-15 year advance warning test marker. Never mind a four- or six-week death sentence from a physician… I challenge all of us to live today as if it will be our last. After all, despite all our scheming, planning, hoping, and wishing, only God knows if it’s perhaps today.

Prayer – God, thank You for today. Thank You for the promise of eternity for those who call Jesus Savior. My prayer is that we do not waste our one and only lives on meaningless pursuits of happiness, but on world-changing priorities that bring everlasting joy and purpose. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

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