"Who's Counting?"

"Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and
such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit" - yet
you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you
are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes"
- James 4:13-14

April 14, 2009. A fine spring morning in Bruning, Nebraska. Population: 221. My grandmother’s funeral was set to begin in 15 minutes. Familiar faces emerged from vehicles ever so briefly before disappearing behind the old church’s front door. So many people to see. So many thoughts and emotions racing through my head as my opportunity to honor my grandmother and glorify my God approached.

I don’t remember what, but I had something on my mind – either a destination to reach or a task to complete – when it happened. I was on my way somewhere when my uncle stepped onto the sidewalk and said “Hello.” He wanted to chat. I didn’t have time. I had a task. I had a destination. It was important, at least at the time. “Hello, how are you?” I asked before indicating we would have to catch up at the reception. He agreed and I returned to the pursuit of my destination.

I can’t tell you whether we talked at the reception or not. There were hundreds of people, dozens of conversations. Frankly, most of the reception is a blur.

However, two things are perfectly clear. The first… I essentially told my uncle that I didn’t have time outside the church that morning. The second… I spoke at his funeral yesterday. May 26, 2009. A cloudy spring afternoon in Bruning, Nebraska. Population: 220.

I didn’t see it coming. No one saw it coming. (Well, almost no one.)

I made a mistake. We all make mistakes. We all put the tyranny of the urgent before the things of true importance sometimes. We all put tasks before people on occasion. After all, there will be time for that later. If there’s one thing there’s always more of, it’s time, right? Right? Wrong. Often there is more time, but not always.

In his book, Hungering Dark, Frederick Buechner writes: “Intellectually, we all know that we will die, but we do not really know it in the sense that the knowledge becomes a part of us. We do not really know it in the sense of living as though it were true. On the contrary, we tend to live as though our lives would go on forever.”

And I would add that “we tend to live as if the lives of those around us would go on forever as well.”

But when death hits close to home, something changes. The way we look at things changes. The way we think about things and people and life changes. At least for a while. At least it should.

King Solomon, the author of the book of Ecclesiastes writes:

“It is better to go to a house of mourning than to a house of feasting,
for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.”

Taking it to heart means that we live in the light of our mortality. That we live in light of the mortality of others. That we realize not only that we will die some day, but that we might die to-day. In light of this fact, how do we live? How do we live in relation to our kids? How do we live in relation to our spouses? How do we live in relation to our God?

In light of this truth, I think we live intentionally. I think we live wisely.

David understood this when he wrote in Psalm 90:

“Teach us to number our days,
that we might get a heart of wisdom.”

How many more days do I have to show my kids the love of their father? How many more days to assure them of the love of their Heavenly Father? How many more days to teach them to live for others, to live for something other, to live with purpose?

Maybe for you it’s not your kids but your grandkids. How many more days do you have to show them what things are really worth living for? How many more days to pass on to them the wisdom you have accumulated through the years? How many more days to just be with them? How many days to leave the kind of legacy you want to leave with them?

Maybe for you, it’s not about kids or grandkids or a spouse or any of that. Maybe it’s about building God’s kingdom here on earth. Or about accomplishing the things He is calling you to do. Serving. Loving. Giving. Leading. Writing. Going. How many more days? How many more times will you say “next year,” until the "next years" run out?

Application… Think of the people you want to impact this week. Write them down. What is one thing you can show, teach or demonstrate to each of those people this week? Think of individuals, come up with a goal, a strategy for reaching the goal and write it down. Then check in a week later and see how you did. This is intentional living. This is wise living.

To live with a heart of wisdom is to live in light of the truth that no one lives forever and that those we love may leave us at any time. Only two things matter for eternity: God and people. Love those you love today, because tomorrow is not guaranteed.