If this were your last day on Earth, and you knew it, what would you do?
I would pray like crazy. I would pray for all of the nonbelievers I know to come to Christ and I would pray for God to be with those I love.
I would try my hardest to spread the Gospel. I would talk about Jesus to anyone and everyone I met—because following Jesus is the only thing that matters in the end, right?
I would show love to as many people as I could. Money wouldn’t be a problem—I would buy thoughtful, heartfelt gifts for people. And I would give up my time and energy for even more people.
If today was my last day on Earth, I would act differently than I do now. I would have more urgency to serve Jesus, and I would try my hardest to do everything for Him. The only thing is, today really could be my last day.
I could die in a car crash or get injured tomorrow. Jesus could come back and take all of us to Heaven with Him—there are so many unexpected events that could happen tomorrow.
If today really could be my last day on Earth, why don’t I act like it? I want to.
4 Things the Bible Commands us to do.
Here are 4 things that the Bible commands us to do—things I would feel urgency to do if I knew it was my last day alive, but have trouble doing right now.
1. We should love others.
“And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39).
2. We should share the Gospel.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age’” (Matthew 28:19-20).
3. We should spend time with Jesus.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
4. We should take up our cross and deny ourselves.
“And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23).
4 Things we do instead.
1. We focus on ourselves.
It’s easy to reclude in my room and forget that I have a brother and sister downstairs who need my love. It’s tempting to get caught up in reading Harry Potter and ignore that my Bible needs reading, too. Sometimes, I pick up my phone instead of interacting with people around me. But the challenging, selfless actions are usually more worth it.
Too often, humans think we’re the center of the universe. We’re not.
We are commanded to love others as Jesus has loved us. Everyone was made in the image of God and everyone is loved by Jesus.
That girl that you really don’t like? She’s made in the image of God.
That boy whose fidgeting gets on your nerves? Just like God has shown you grace, you should show him grace.
We need to stop focusing on ourselves so that we can live for Jesus to the best of our ability. God loved us. Now we need to spread that love.
2. We back out of sharing the Gospel.
Sharing the Gospel is scary—almost everyone acknowledges that. What if the person we share with is mean, or doesn’t accept the message, or asks us questions that we don’t have the answers to? What if they’ve already heard the message we’re presenting—and hate it?
We need to share the Gospel with people regardless of our fears. Doesn’t someone’s salvation matter more than temporary discomfort?
I’ve noticed that when I share the Gospel with people (which I need to do more often), they are usually receptive. Sometimes, they ask more questions after I share with them. Once, a girl I shared the Gospel with said that she’d always wanted to see what a church is like. I told her she should come with me to church one day.
Of course, there are also times when people will not accept the message we share with them. But in those cases, people aren’t hostile to us. They’re hostile to the Gospel. They’re hostile to Jesus.
And their hostility doesn’t change the fact that Christians are called to share our light.
3. We put other things before Jesus.
“I’ll have time for Jesus later,” I thought. “I just need to workout first—my body is begging for it.”
I turned on the TV and searched for a good workout video. I clicked on one, and before long, I was breathing hard. However, I soon found that God was calling me to spend time with Him instead. I turned off the video and opened my Bible. I did the right thing.
It was hard to stop the video, though. I had wanted to workout more than I wanted to read my Bible, even though I knew time with God is more important.
I can almost guarantee you there are going to be times when you don’t want to spend time with God. When you’d rather watch TV, hang out with friends, or read a good book. And those things aren’t bad. But anything can become a hindrance if it’s prioritized instead of God.
I think the hardest thing about spending time with God is sitting down to do it. For me, it’s saying, “Okay, I’m going to take this time and spend it with the Lord. Nothing else is going to take up this time.”
It can be hard to start reading your Bible, but if you have a love for God and His word, it’s often easy to keep going. Many times, I find myself planning to read two chapters, finishing those chapters, and hungry for more.
4. We stay in our comfort zones.
A lot of good things come from stepping out of your comfort zone. It can help you make new friends, learn new skills, and serve God in amazing ways. But it takes, well, discomfort to do new things.
It’s so much easier to stay in a pattern that we’re familiar with. But God tells us to deny ourselves daily to follow Him. We need to deny our want for comfort in order to serve God fully.
Jesus stepped out of His comfort zone while He was on Earth. It probably wasn’t easy for Him to refrain from arguing with the people who were about to kill Him. It most likely wasn’t a piece of cake to speak to those people with kindness. It probably wasn’t natural for Him to consent to dying on the cross.
But look what came out of it. His death was one of the most impactful actions in all of history. And it didn’t come from Jesus staying inside of His comfort zone.
How would you live if this was your last day on Earth?
Would you care less about what others think and care more about what Jesus thinks? Would you love others without fear? Would you boldly share the Gospel? Are you already doing those things?
I challenge you to take up your cross, deny yourself, and love God and others. I’ll do it with you—let’s take this challenge together.