The Dash

      Thinking today of all those innocent lives that were taken thirteen years ago today and praying for their families and friends.   We lift them all up to You, Lord, and praise You that You are sovereign even over such horrific events.  We may not understand, Lord, but we trust that You are working and moving even in the midst of such tragedies.  Please continue to bring healing to those shattered lives as only You can.
      But one thought came to mind this morning while praying and thinking about this solemn day:  What if we knew that this day was our last day on earth?  What would change?  Would our priorities alter?  What things would we mark off our to-do list as utterly insignificant...and what items would we suddenly add or move to the top of the list?
      Not long ago I heard Louie Giglio declare: "We are all on our way to our own funeral."  And one day on our tombstone will be the date of our birth, the date of our death, and in between will be a "dash."  That brief "-" marks the few years that God gives each of us on this planet.  For some of us, it will be many years...for others of us, fewer.  But in light of eternity, what difference does a few years more or less really matter?
      The point is, God has given us these days and months and years on planet earth to love the Lord, to love others and to live to God's glory.  And then it's eternity--forever and ever and ever.  So if the dash is what we've got now,  we have the choice today, this hour, how we will live it--
      We can live it filled with resentment and bitterness...or we can live it forgiving others and enjoying the freedom and grace such forgiveness gives us.  We can live it paralyzed with fear over the future...or we can live it by placing our faith in the Great I Am who is the God of past, present and future and has all things under His control.  We can live it grieving over what we've lost...or we can live it rejoicing over all we have left.  We can live it suffocated by selfishness and preoccupation with ourselves...or we can live it in the joy and expanse of serving and loving others.  We can live it complaining and downhearted...or we can live it praising God and grateful for His gifts.
      None of us is guaranteed tomorrow...or even the next hour.  But we have this moment, this hour, to love and to live to God's glory with every fiber of our being.  Martin Luther often prayed, based on Ps.90:12, "Lord, teach us to think about death so that we might learn how to live."  Oh Father, teach us, empower us, strengthen us to live this day, this hour, this moment loving You, loving others, and keeping our focus ever and always upon our Savior, the Author and Perfecter of our faith.
      Might we live any and all of the days we have left in our "dash" in such a way that we are joyfully and fully ready to step into eternity and see You face to face.  Heaven is coming, praise God, but until that glorious day, let's live fully and faithfully by His grace, for His glory, all the way to the finish line.
      To God be the glory.