What if you only had one month to live?

I've been seeing here and there that lots of folks are reading or involved in a program at church based on the book One Month to Live.  I haven't read it or been involved in it in any way so in what follows I'm not so much commenting on the book or program itself as much as I am making an observation on the way these kinds of discussions usually go, by that I mean discussions on how you would change your life if you knew you were going to die soon.

At the risk of sounding like a kranky, contrarian, curmudgeon, may I say that I think most of those discussions, though well intended and hitting some important points often miss the mark.

Also, if I may say a personal word to my friends who are reading this.  I hope I don't come across as mister morbid in my blogging since most of my posts these days are about cancer and dying.  It's just that this is obviously the dominating circumstance of my life right now.  But I want to assure you that, though I think often about death and dying I am in no way giving up the fight for life, nor am I resigned to a "very-soon" death. Though my hope is not in doctors and statistics, I have even seen a bit of chatter lately to the effect that some of the more grim statistics for those in my condition are from five or more years ago, and that as new stats become available for those diagnosed more recently, we may find that the five year survival rate is higher than is usually reported.  So I have lots of hope and optimism, but I am realistic - I realistically could live a few months to many, many years, and I'm gradually learning to not worry so much about that as it is ultimately in God's hands. I am learning to live each day as if it has enough trouble of it's own and not worry so much about tomorrow - that's almost biblical, I think.

So having said that, getting back to the topic I started with, here's my gripe about these discussions on how you would change if you knew you were soon to die.  Most of them focus on how you can change your life now so that when it comes time to die you won't have any regrets.  This approach largely forgets the gospel.

Granted, it's not all bad.  I think often these days about how I will be remembered, mostly by my wife and children, but also to a certain degree about how others outside the family will remember me.  I do think about the legacy I will leave, so I do applaud anyone who begins that kind of self-evaluation process and makes the necessary changes that would entail.

But the bottom line is this - if I am to face my own death with no regrets, the only way I can do so is if my sins are atoned for, and sins are only atoned for by the work of Christ.  From what I can tell, most of these "what if you only had a short time to live" discussions revolve around things you must do to cleanse the slate and clear your conscience.  Again, good stuff to do, but only in a secondary sense.  If I knew I was going to die soon I would spend far more time reading, studying, meditating on and reflecting on all that Christ has done for me than anything else.  That's the only sure way to approach your own death with no regrets.

Comments

[Lisa Hoffman]

Beautifully written!

[David Zook]

Thanks for the reminder. When I think about life in these terms, my sense of urgency skyrockets with everything. I want to finish strong and be a testimony for the joy that God has placed into me through his Son and Spirit. There is one more person that I can visit with; there is one more person to encourage; there is one more person to love; there is one more person to share what Christ has meant for me...etc.

[Richard Kindig]

Thanks, David,
I had a brush with this question about 3 years ago when we had a false diagnosis of pancreatic cancer in my wife. I was surprised that the overwhelming result was not fear or any emotion, really, but two things: a calm sense of reliance on the finished work of Christ, and as we realized that it was a false diagnosis after about 2 weeks, a very deep internal resolve to focus on what God wants to accomplish through us... and therefore a sense that the past activities of doctrinal conflicts, keeping house, and other temporal stuff could all be set aside with a more purposeful involvement in God's agenda. Because while I agree with you that what Jesus did is all that really matters when it comes to our personal salvation, there are also things he has given us to do. "Filling up what is left behind of Christ's afflictions" is one thing. Using our skills to serve the people God has equipped us to help is another.

I'm continuing to pray for you and I thank you for making yourself available to God to accomplish good things.

[marvin hamm]

BEFORE YOU JUDGE THE STUDY ONE MONTH TO LIVE. YOU NEED TO READ THE BOOK.
i AM TEACHING THE STUDY IN A HOME BIBLE STUDY, AND IT CHANGES THE WAY I THINK ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN MY LIFE. REMBER THAT ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO THOSE WHO WAIT UPON THE LORD.

[Pieter]

I've read the book, we've done the full course. I still agree with the original blog - can't say it moved me that much, I learned from the book very little more than what Christ has put in me long-long ago! Indeed it also created an uneasy feeling in my gut that the author of the book also clings to the teaching of the Prosperity Theology: do good to feel good and God will be more kind to you the more you do and then give you more and more "wealth" and "health". God is All Glory, nothing I do can make Him more glorious than He is! He gives to me Ps 127:2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep. Mat 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
:-)