FAR: Five-Minute Friday

Live Short and Live Long

We should live like life is short and like life is long. I don’t know how far my journey of life will take me. I might only have a short path remaining, but I might also have a long path that will take me far down life’s road with various opportunities and struggles. This has implications for relationships, investments, work, and priorities.

Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself

Joe Thorn and Sam Storms wrote an interesting book about thinking about your life and how far you might go or not go. The title of the book is Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011). The book is a series of short devotional readings to help a wise person preach to themselves.

There are two chapters that apply to today’s Five-Minute Friday word. They are titled “Live Short” and “Live Long.” In the interest of brevity, let me share two quotes, one from each chapter.

LIVE SHORT

“Dear Self, The call to live every day as your last is not anything new. You’ve heard it quite a bit, and you even “amen” the sentiment. But why haven’t you given it more thought? The call to live today as if it were your last is not a romantic notion of living life to the fullest. It is a call to recognize that God is sovereign and has ordered your days from beginning to end. It is to recognize that God has given you today but has not promised you tomorrow. What this means, then, is that you are a fool if you presume that you have tomorrow while taking for granted the grace you have today.

Consider that God has ordered your days. He has given you a certain number of days to use for his glory and the good of those around you. What are you doing with the time you have? Remember, we are not talking about the time you think you have, but the time you actually have. If you knew for certain that this was in fact the last day of your life, what would you do? Would you hole up in your house, kneeling, repenting for all the sin you have neglected? Would you run to every friend and relative who does not know Christ and encourage them to repent and believe the gospel? But while today could be your last, you do not know it, so the best course of action is simply to be faithful to the things God has called you to this day, for it could be your last. Will you love your spouse? Talk with your kids? Do you best at your place of employment? Pray and seek God with earnestness and sincerity?

You see, you have to make the most, not just of the day as a whole, but of all of the parts that make up that day. That is your responsibility. Live short; live with urgency. This is the natural outworking of truly embracing our chief end of glorifying God and enjoying him forever.” Joe Thorn and Sam Storms, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011).

LIVE LONG

“To live long means that you are thinking into the future for the well-being of yourself and others. It is good to ask if you have a plan in place to grow your family in the faith, preparing them for the potential hardships ahead that you are most likely to lead them through. I’m not saying you need to act like a business and have a five-year plan, but it is certainly good to think through where you would like you and your family to be five or ten years down the road, and then begin working toward that goal.”  Joe Thorn and Sam Storms, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011).

How to Identify a Follower of Jesus

They live life that is “hard pressed” between two options: continuing to live, or to be with Christ. Here is what the Apostle Paul said: “Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.” Philippians 1:18b-26

Five Minute Friday

This post is part of the weekly Five-Minute Friday link-up.

All scripture passages are from the English Standard Version except as otherwise noted.