This week will mark three years since my dad died of Pancreatic Cancer. It doesn’t seem real even now after this long. Sometimes I see his picture and think that I need to give him a call because I haven’t talked to him in a long time, then I remember, I can’t. I think going through loosing my dad to cancer really taught me a lot of important lessons. I could probably spend a long time writing about each of those, but I think that the one lesson that sticks out even to this day is that our life is truly short. The Bible, in James 4:13, tells us that our life is as a vapor meaning that it is short and here for only a short period of time. Some might ask how I learned this lesson when my dad lived 77 years of life. That would almost make us think that life is long not short. After preaching this verse many times, I think that I have learned that it isn’t as much a reference to the amount of years you live, but more a reference to what you do with the years that you do have. Unfortunately, many live their lives for things that really don’t count for much. Others might live their lives focused on things that are good like family, work, friends, and fun, but when this life is over all those things will be also. What really counts is if we live our lives for eternal things, what we do for the Lord. When we do that we are laying up our treasure in heaven where it will last for all eternity. So the moral of this story is if life is short we should do everything possible to make it count. How can we do that?
Realise that;
1. Time is passing
– The problem is we don’t realise that we go day in a day out and never do anything that will count for eternity.
– I once heard it said “90 % of solving a problem is realising there is one”.
2. It is not ours anyway
– In reality it is not ours anyway so we should be using it for Him.
– One of the quickest things that can take our eyes and minds off of our own problems is helping others with their own problems.
– Often when we see what many others are facing it makes what we are facing not seem that big.
3. Tomorrow will never come
– Make the most of every day.
– Make sure your on course focusing on the right things.
– The problem often is not deciding between doing something right or wrong but deciding between doing what is good and what is best.
– There is a saying, “The enemy of “the best” in not “the worst.” The enemy of “the best” is “just fine.”
4. It will be gone before you know it
– Don’t wait until it’s too late.
– We don’t usually realise it is to late until it is.
– Don’t say “I really want to start doing that some day” because someday will never come.
– The hardest part about loosing someone is wishing you could go back and do all the things you wanted to.