If you knew that when you laid your head on the pillow tonight, you would wake up in eternity, would you live your life differently today?
The question has been posed, in one form or another, countless times. You may have heard it or read it many times yourself. Even though it is not new, every time I think about this question, I am reminded of the areas of my life that require growth. When we get right down to it, this question challenges us to be better stewards of our time and opportunities.
In matters of stewardship, we will answer to God and God alone. While we may see others and consider that they have failed to properly steward their time or resources, the Bible reminds us not to judge the servant of another (Romans 14:4). What we can and must do, however, is evaluate ourselves.
There are only so many waking hours in a day. Each one of us has different skills, opportunities, and capability to utilize those waking hours. We will not be judged on the basis of what someone else can do or did, but on the basis of what God knows about who we are.
Here are a few questions that we can add to the first question as we seek to be the best stewards of each day:
Did I spend my day seeking opportunities to think about and talk about God?
Did I focus on nurturing relationships that both encourage me for eternity and allow me to encourage others to make decisions for eternity?
Did I turn away from temptation, making use of the way of escape God provides?
Did I seek to grow my talents for God’s glory?
We cannot possibly do a lifetime of good in a day’s time. On our final day, we will not rejoice or lament over a single day’s triumphs or failures, but over a lifetime of decisions. Yet, those decisions happen one day at a time. We will only treat each day the way we should when we view it in the light of eternity. Since we are but a mist, we must focus on the will of the Lord (James 4:14–15)!
Clay Leonard
