We’ve all heard of those moments where someone’s life flashes before their eyes. They get an unexpected diagnosis or providentially escape from what seems like a certain accident, and they realize that what they have been living for is not nearly as significant as what they should be living for. It’s in those moments that people began to count the costs of their decisions, to question whether their quest for temporal success and accolades are worth the sacrifices and compromises that they have made.
Christians, however, shouldn’t wait until those near-miss moments in order to consider whether their lives are focused on the right things, on the eternal things. As A.W. Tozer reminds us:
We who live in this nervous age would be wise to meditate on our lives and our days long and often before the face of God and on the edge of eternity. For we are made for eternity as surely as we are made for time, and as responsible moral beings we must deal with both.
In other words, as much as we are apt to spend considerable time and effort dealing with the cares and concerns of this present age, we should spend at least equal time contemplating our lives in light of God’s perspective. Our lives are one unexpected moment away from standing before our Creator. We would be wise to not only recognize that fact, but to make choices and decisions accordingly.
We live on the edge of eternity. The question is – do our calendars, cares, and character reflect that fact?