If you had one day to live, how would you spend it?

Proverbs 27:1

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.

An Appointment With Death

This sounds morbid, and I don’t mean for it to, but no one knows the day of their death. All we know for sure is that we’re all destined to die and then face the judgment (Heb. 9:27), so none of us can take our lives for granted and just rest, relax, eat, and be happy (Luke 12:19) because our very life might end tonight. What would you do differently if you knew you had only one day to live? I have been with some people who were on their deathbed and knocking on heaven’s door, and none had remorse over the lack of money they could have made, their desire to have finer things, or that they’d spent more time at work. Just the opposite is what I found to be true. They wished they had studied the Bible more to know God better, they wished they had spent more time with their family and told them more often how much they loved them, and they wished they would have been better witnesses to their lost friends and family members. I suggest you live like today is your last because you never know–it might be.

Don’t Boast About Tomorrow

How can we ever brag or boast about what we’ll do tomorrow when there is no guarantee that tomorrow will ever come (James 4:13-14)? Life is like a morning fog–it comes and then suddenly is gone. What would you do today if you knew it was your last? Would you go to that friend with whom you’ve been sharing the Gospel and tell them once more about how they might be saved (Acts 4:12)? Would you have one last great meal like they offer those on death row just before their execution? What would be your priority today if you knew it was your very last one? Should we not live like that every day?

Make Today a God’s-Will Day

James said that we shouldn’t brag about doing something tomorrow but rather seek to do God’s will today and tomorrow and say if it’s God’s will then I will do this or I will do that (James 4:15) because if you confidently boast about what you’ll do tomorrow, God sees that as evil (James 4:16). That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t plan things for tomorrow, but your plans should include seeking what God would want you to do. We should live today like there’s no tomorrow because there might not be a tomorrow for us on this earth. Would you be more generous today with your money, with your time, and with your prayers? I believe we should live every day like it could be our last for another reason: Christ could return at any given moment (1 Thess. 4:16-18). So live today like it’s your last on earth and like Christ will return today!

A Closing Prayer

God, You alone know the day of my death, so teach me to number each and every day (Psalm 90:12) like it might be my last because it could be. Let me die with no regrets or remorse if You were to send Your Son back to earth today for His church, and in Jesus’ name I pray.

Amen