The gift of life

Earlier this month I attended a Thanksgiving Service for a friend I’d known since student days. Family, friends and work colleagues all spoke about the huge impact he’d had on their lives, his integrity and the quality of his character, and his warmth and good humour. Alongside the obvious sadness of the day, there was much joy and hope, and the confidence that for someone who’d served his Lord so faithfully, death is not the end.
 
He was less than two months younger than me. And at the time of his death this closeness in age impacted me in a way I hadn’t expected. Life is a wonderful gift for us all, but death can come at any time. And I was struck by the responsibility to use the one and only life I have here on earth in a way that honours God and makes the most of all He’s given me. One of the prayers that’s sometimes used at a Funeral Service includes the words “Give us the wisdom and grace to use aright the time that is left to us here on earth”, and that’s a challenge for all of us to take on board.
 
The Good News Bible translates Psalm 86:11 as “Teach me, Lord, what you want me to do, and I will obey you faithfully; teach me to serve you with complete devotion.” I wonder how different life would be if we prayed this for ourselves every morning? Knowing we have a God who wants us to experience life in all its fulness, who gives us gifts to use in His church and in the wider world, and who makes Himself known to those who love Him, praying this prayer could radically transform things for us.
 
One of the hymns I remember singing at morning Services in my choirboy days - and we very occasionally include in our Wednesday Service - was “Awake my soul.” Its language was from a particular age, and I recall being somewhat amused as a youngster by its encouragement to “Shake off dull sloth, and joyful rise”! It focuses on how we should live the new day, and includes the instruction to “… live this day as if thy last.” Every day, every moment, is a precious gift from God. We already have the promise of eternity with Him, and our time here on earth is just a breath in this bigger perspective. But it’s also a wonderful opportunity, both for us and for the good of others.
 
Lord, thank you for your gift of life to me. Help me to seek out your will for me, to serve you wholeheartedly, and to honour you in all I say, think and do. Amen

Image by kalhh from Pixabay