Acts 21:1-16 | Preparing for DeathSample

Live Like You Are Dying

The country singer Tim McGraw wrote a song in the early 2000s about his father, Tug McGraw, a professional relief pitcher who played 19 years in the major leagues. The elder McGraw was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer that took his life at the age of 59.

In the song "Live Like You Were Dying," a tribute to his dad, the younger McGraw chronicled how his dad lived those last months of his life, doing things like skydiving, mountain climbing, riding a bull for two seconds, and making time to go fishing with his son, Tim.

The song was about dying, but living was its theme.

Paul didn’t have a cancer diagnosis, but there was no denying it; he was marching towards death. “When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, ‘Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.’ When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, ‘The Lord’s will be done’” (Acts 21:13-14, NIV).

Paul spent his adult life spreading the gospel. He was persecuted and beaten, but continued to get up, brush himself off, and continue with the mission. You’d think Paul might have earned a retirement, but he didn’t slow down in the face of God’s mission or God’s call. He doesn't avoid where God is leading him; he prepares himself. Paul lived a life committed to dying for Christ. Jesus died for Paul, and in return, Paul gave his life to him.

Jesus died for us so that we could live in eternity with him. Life on earth is the starting line for eternal life, which Christ made available through his death on the cross. Eternal life is not something that begins after you die. It begins today. Jesus’s invitation is to start living that life today.