Live Like You Were Dying

This title from recent hit country song ties in well with a quote from the Puritan author and pastor Richard Baxter that Dr. Mohler read in chapel today. It goes something like this, "I preached as never sure to preach again, And as a dying man to dying men."

In closing today's message, Dr. Mohler reflected on his recent medical problems that almost killed him. He talked about how it made him realize that he took the act of preaching for granted and how he thought of himself as strong and healthy.

Having faced death, and witnessed God's grace in healing, he said that, like Baxter, every time he enters the pulpit from now on he will preach as never sure to preach again and as a dying man preaching to dying men.

What about the song title? It is based on the real life experience of the songwriter with his father who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Although I wouldn't recommend living dangerously just because you have been given a death sentence by a doctor, I think this thought can be applied in the same way as the wise statement by Richard Baxter.

You see, just as Richard Baxter realized, and Dr. Mohler was powerfully reminded of, we are in fact all dying physically. There will come a day, if the Lord doesn't return first, when each of us will do a lot of things for the last time. We will preach our last sermon, witness to the lost for the last time, tell our families how much we love them for the last time, watch a sunrise and sunset for the last time, and the list goes on.

As I get older (36 and counting) I am becoming more aware of my mortality as each day passes by. In my relatively short life I have experienced the loss of many loved one's and friends who maybe didn't realize that particular day would be their last. I have lost a parent to death and experienced the other one battling cancer, so any thoughts of my own invincibility went out the window a long time ago.

So, I encourage you to live like you were dying in the sense as not to take any day or relationship for granted. If you are a believer, redeem the time and look at your service to the Lord in the same was as Richard Baxter or Al Mohler. Whatever you do, do it as you may never do it again and as a dying man serving dying men.