This morning I was waiting to get on the elevator at the hospital. The person in front of me in the lobby was wearing a T-shirt with this saying on the back of it:
“Live your life so that the preacher will not have to lie at your funeral.”
Thought-provoking…for several reasons. Does this mean that sometimes ministers lie at funerals? Does this mean your only motivation for living a good life is so that true statements can be made at your funeral?
There is a really good assumption underneath this statement: the realization that we are facing our own funeral someday, and the life we live will be the legacy we leave behind. What we live is what we are writing as our epithet.
Live your life...not only to the fullest, but also to the memory and example you will leave behind. Living our live to the fullest each day is predicated on the following things:
· Each morning is a gift unwrapped with the rising sun
· We gratefully step out into the morning air filling our lungs with the breath of God
· Our eyes capture the beauty of spring and we sense the pulsating earth with renewal all around
· We care and are compassionate toward each person we meet today
· We live our lives according to the covenant commitment we have made to God, our spouses, our children and our brothers and sisters in Christ
· We grasp each moment, each opportunity to use our personal gifts to bless others
· With enthusiasm, wonder and joy we dive into the challenges of the day
Perhaps you can add other things to what you think it means to “live your life.” Authenticity, consistency, genuineness, maturity, perseverance, and faithfulness with God’s grace and power will enable us all to live in such a way that we will not have to be an imposition on the preacher when the time for our funeral arrives.
Truth lived…truth spoken. What a combination for eternity!
In Christian love, Curtis
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