Some of you may know that I lost my younger sister a few years back unexpectedly. Recently, I lost my 45 year old cousin the same way. The other day, my husband learned that a friend of his died of a brain aneurysm. He was only 38. I’m not saying all this to bum anyone out, but as a reminder that today might be our last day on earth. All of us will die. Some of us, maybe most of us, sooner than we would anticipate.
What you may not know about me, is that I work my butt off to be successful, because I have a ministry dream. I have a burden for orphans and I’d like to one day support an orphanage. Besides my daily walk with God, my marriage and mothering my children, it is the call I feel strongest on my life. But, I may not ever realize this dream. My time might be short. So, I cannot put off until tomorrow what I can do today. I don’t have the funds, or time to realize, at the moment, my lofty dream, but I must do what I can today. I can sponsor one child. I can tithe to my church who can take what I give and add it to what others do and send missionaries to reach those I hope to reach myself one day. I can write a letter of encouragement to someone doing what I hope to one day. I can pray.
A goal in my life is to have as few regrets as possible when I’m lying on my deathbed. I think of my sister and cousin and wish I would have reached out more often. Prayed for them more often. Losing them suddenly reminds me that time is short–I need to make today count.
James 2:14 “Dear brothers and sisters, what’s the use of saying you have faith if you don’t prove it by your actions? That kind of faith can’t save anyone. 15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat well” — but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? 17 So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good deeds is no faith at all — it is dead and useless. 18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” I say, “I can’t see your faith if you don’t have good deeds, but I will show you my faith through my good deeds.”
