Life and Death

When I was a child, my Mom used to work as a Hospice nurse. Hospice is a wonderful organization that provides in-home care for terminally ill patients by giving comfort and dignity through the uncertainties and fears of impending death. This is such a worthy cause, but as you can imagine, the emotional strain can be great on the caregivers who build relationships with patients only to watch them die.

It takes a special kind of person (like my Mom) to help people navigate through the last steps of life and then lead them by the hand into eternity. As a boy, I accompanied her to many patients’ homes, and my worldview was rocked by the reality of death. Most folks live their lives in a comfortable illusion where they consider themselves invincible until the inescapable truth of our own mortality finds them by surprise. Life looks completely different when you’re staring at death, and the knowledge that our end is near brings a perspective that can radically change a person’s worldview.

The unlikely intersection of my childish naivety and the harsh reality of death birthed in me a very unique perspective. I became fascinated by the stories and thoughts of these people who were preparing to meet their Maker and I was struck by the consistent parallels I saw played out over and over. Whether these people were young or old, black or white, rich or poor, man or woman, in the end, these discriminating details of life seemed trivial, but the things that emerged as most important seemed universal.

What are the things that will matter most to you when you're staring at death? What relationiships will you wish you would have spent more time developing? Are those your priorities now? The great philosopher Tim McGraw says "Live like you're dyin" (there's some good theology in country music)! Don't wait until the end to start living the life God has called you to live today. Life is short enough as it is.

"What am I supposed to do with my life?"

Of all the questions I’ve ever heard, I believe that this one (or some variation of it) is the most important question of all. It seems to be hardwired into us from birth to start a search for some kind of significance. Despite our vast and varied experience and cultures, we as human being as unified by a universal desire to find our purpose and a desperate need to discover our destiny.

I believe that this desire for destiny is placed within us by our Creator. In their purest form, all desires are given to us by God and He also provides a holy and perfect means for fulfilling our desires, but the world is all too eager to offer us cheap imitations that have the potential to numb our spiritual senses and ultimately poison our minds, bodies and souls. Remember in the quest to find your God-given destiny, God will never call you to do anything that would compromise your integrity. You will be tempted to take ethical short-cuts to get to where you believe God wants you to be and then convincing yourself that the ends justify the means, but God will always honor the moral high road. Keep trusting Him to lead you to the right destination and be patient (that's the part I struggle with the most).

He is in control and regardless of the details of vocation, marriage, education, and other big life decisions, God's ultimate intention for your life is for you to have a relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. Everything else must flow out of that. Without that relationship, we're just spinning our wheels on a path that leads nowhere.