If I knew I only had 24 hours to live, what would I do with that time? I’ve asked myself that and similar questions many times trying to figure out my priorities in life. If I only had 1 year, or 3 months, or 1 month, or two weeks, or one week… Having recently lost a son to sudden death, the question has become more prominent in my mind.
I think of relationships with family and friends, I think of projects unfinished in my ‘basement of dreams’ and of the too many belongings that need to be gone through and dispersed. But as I read through Acts and see what we call ‘Paul’s Missionary Journey,’ I find myself thinking of something different. Paul didn’t ‘plan’ his journey saying, “First I will go here and then after 3 months, I will move on to…” Rather, he was constantly pushed on by persecution and threats of prison and death if he stayed. As he journeyed, he picked up leaders in the various communities that he mentored and taught. He sometimes took different folks with him to the next place, mentoring them on the way. But he was always teaching, teaching, teaching, preaching, preaching, preaching… And many people – Jews and Gentiles – came to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives as a result of Paul’s persistence in teaching the Gospel. Many churches grew up in many cities and countries because of Paul’s persistence in teaching the Gospel.
Always, hanging over Paul was the threat of eminent death – he was stoned, beaten, and imprisoned time after time. But he persisted. What did he teach? When he was with the Jews he tried to use their own Scriptures to convince them that Jesus Christ was indeed the Messiah and Savior of the world. When he was with the Gentiles, he taught them of the One True God… “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth… he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men… and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ Therefore, since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone – an image made by man’s design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance. But now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising them from the dead.” Acts 17:24-31
We find Paul at Troas for seven days. On the last day he was there, “because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight… [Eutychus fell asleep and fell out the window, was dead, Paul raised him back to life] Then he [Paul] went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left.” Acts 20:7, 11 It seems that Paul’s heart was to teach the people and especially the leaders the truth about Jesus, his purpose, his mission, and his death and resurrection. With every breath he was given, it was Paul’s purpose to make sure that no one went without hearing that Jesus was the Messiah and that he had come, lived and died and rose again to save them from their sins. “Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.” Acts 20:25-27 Paul was convinced that every breath he had belonged to God and he would use it to proclaim God’s love and grace to everyone he came in contact with.
The question then remains, what if I only had 24 hours to live, how would I spend it? What is it that God wants me to do with every breath that he gives me? The mission of Jesus was to make sure everyone understood how much God loved them – even to the point of death on the cross. His resurrection brought with it the promise of eternal life with him in heaven for all who believe in him and accept his gift of grace – forgiveness of sins. Paul’s mission was to make sure no one went without hearing that good news. The Apostles worked diligently to spread the Gospel as far and wide as they could. Peter tells us, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” II Peter 3:9 The Lord does not want anyone to perish. His desire is that everyone hears the good news and has opportunity to repent and be saved from their sins.
I am not an orator and would have a difficult time preaching/teaching all day and all night as Paul did, but still, when I take my last breath, I want to be able to say with Paul that I am innocent of the blood of all men. I want to be able to say that I shared the good news with anyone and everyone that God brought into my path or sent me to. I want to pour out my life for God’s kingdom just as Jesus poured out his life for me. My priorities should not change whether I have 50 more years to live or whether I die tomorrow. My priority is to make sure everyone has an opportunity to respond to God’s invitation to become part of his kingdom.
Help me, Lord, to not squander the life you have given me to live, but to use it to your honor and glory, today and as long as you give me breath.
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