Choose to Live

Thanks to everyone who shared your thoughts on how you might prefer to die.  You pretty much covered the thoughts I’ve had, except my daughter-in law's response about dying laughing.  I don't think I'd want to be the one who told the joke that caused you to laugh yourself to death!  I think the first response for most people would be to die peacefully in their sleep at a good old age.  But like some of you, the more I think about that, the less I'm convinced that's the best way to go.  I've thought about what it might be like to give your life for Christ or die to protect your family or give up your life to save someone else.  I've often wondered if I could or would.  Often times those are spur-of-the-moment decisions, not something you have much time to think about.  Am I that kind of person right now that I'd do that without hesitation?  I don't even know how to answer that.  

I started a sermon series today based on Erwin McManus' book, Seizing Your Divine Moment.  The book is based on a story in the life of Jonathan in 1Samuel 14:1-23 and talks about living every moment to the fullest, watching for where God is working and being willing to risk to follow Him there.  Today's introductory message was called Choose To Live.  I think that might be the key to how we see ourselves dying.  One of the passages I touched on was Luke 9:23-24.

23"Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it."

Jesus says if we really want to live life as He offers it we must die to self.  We must be willing to give it all up to follow Him.  By trying to protect our lives and our comforts and security we will end up losing what life is meant to be.  But when we willingly turn our lives over to Jesus we will begin to experience abundant(overflowing, adventurous) life.  

So, am I going to be more concerned about dying comfortably or choosing to live life to the full now?  I plan to explore these thoughts more in a couple more posts and perhaps give summaries of where the sermon series is heading.

Also just wanted to leave you with a couple "famous last words" that I found interesting, even humorous(if death is humorous).  They really don't have much to do with what is written above but they caught my attention.

William Somerset Maugham:
British author, died in 1965
"Dying is a very dull and dreary affair. And my advice to you is to have nothing whatever to do with it"

Gen. John Sedgewick:
Union commander in the American Civil War, shot at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House in 1864 while looking over a parapet at the enemy lines
"They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist..."

Dave

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