NOW! Monday, November 17, 2008

Let’s say that today will be your last day alive.  At some point today, you will experience a trauma that will take your life.  Would you say that “it is well with your soul?”  Do you have any garbage laying around that you work daily to cover up?  Are there relationships that you intend on making better when you get a chance?  Have you given forgiveness to someone who is drowning in depression and doubt over what they have done to you… but you won’t release them?

I’m not sure where we get the idea that we will live forever, or for that fact that we’ve got some right to live long and prosper.  Something happened in my life at a young age that made me appreciate the value of a day.  When I was in college, I went snow skiing over a Christmas break with a friend.  Early one morning I was awakened by an early phone call that was for me.  At the other end of line came the message… David is dead.

David was my roommate in college and friend from high school.  At the age of 21, David died of a massive heart attack.  We had built a very good friendship and had many great times together, up until the winter of that year.  Things began to change and we fought and lashed out at one another daily.  The last conversation I had with David was a yelling match about responsibilities, arrogance, and disgust.  We exchanged some pretty harsh words… and left for the Christmas break.  I figured we would end up coming back and patching things up… but that never happened.

At that point, I made a vow to myself to try my best to stay on good terms with people, forgive, and not get bent out of shape over small things.  Naturally, it took some time to sink in… but to this day, I am shaped by this.

After the funeral, when I returned to the apartment we had rented together, I knew there were some things that David shouldn’t have been messing with… and I can’t say that I have always been the perfect person either.  My first order of business was to search the hiding places to throw away and “clean up” some things that I knew for certain his parents didn’t need to see… it would have devastated them.  That moment has stuck with me deeper than any other.

If I died today… in the inventory of who I am… what junk am I carrying around?  What parts of my life need to be cleaned up?  What secrets am I keeping?  What relationships are broken?  What bitterness am I carrying?  Who do I hate?

All of these questions ring in my mind and should ring in yours.  If you died today… would your family be shamed by all of the balls that would drop out of the air?  Would secrets be revealed?  Would forgiveness go ungiven?  Do you have a friend that will come in and clean up behind you… to save your family the shame?

Or are you clean?  Do you live out in the open with no secrets?  Do you place God at the center of your life and ask him daily to help you get rid of the junk that keeps you bound up and sneaking around in the shadows of shame?  If you are reading this… start living clean now!

Let me tell you that whatever it is that you are afraid to expose is not as big of a deal as you think it is.  Evil will tell you to stuff it down, keep it quiet, don’t reveal… because evil delights in keeping you bound in those chains.  Christ is alive so that you don’t have to suffer that!  Stop now!

I don’t cherish the time of David’s death… it wasn’t easy for me.  But it gave me a perspective and God has allowed me to gain wisdom beyond my years.  Now I do take every chance I get to let people know how I feel (good or bad).  One of the best memories I have that was inspired by this event… it was the opportunity I took with my both my grandfathers before they died.  I was able to tell them how grateful I and all the family was that they were men of faith that gave us an opportunity to know true love, family, and committed faith.   I am blessed because they fathered a generation of faithful children.

Get rid of your chains.  It’s really not as big of a deal as you think it is.  Tell your family that you love them, regardless of what they’ve done to you or for you.  Forgive those who have wronged you… free yourself and free them from the bondage.

If you died today… don’t leave a mess for someone else to clean up… after all… they may not know all of your hiding places.

God loves us and wants us to focus on him with every fiber of our being.  That means you will have to give up some of the stupid stuff that is getting your attention.  It’s a freedom you need to experience now… before you’re dead.

Peace,
Greg
Acts 4:31

About

Welcome, and thanks for dragging yourself over to Live|Bold! My name is Greg Arnold and I am pumped to see you here. This interactive online community is here to point every man toward the cross. Whether you have been a follower of Christ for ages, or you are just stumbling into this strange new world of faith, we have something of value to offer you. This online e-zine is a cross between a blog, a social network, a resource center, and a pulpit. My hope is to inspire you to live your faith on the outside and be a real man for God. We need you in the fight.