Life Well Lived

Teach us to realise the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

​Recently, I attended the funeral service of a friend of nine years. She went home to be with the Lord five days after her 62nd birthday. She had been a Christian for many years and spoke openly about her faith in all situations.

Shortly before she died, I visited her in the hospice. She was in a lot of pain yet took time to speak about her faith to the nurses and doctors who were looking after her.

Before her funeral service, I found myself wondering what she would say, if she was able to come back to earth for two minutes to address the congregation.
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 Firstly, and most importantly, I think she would speak about Christ. She would try to describe the indescribable to us. She would use superlatives as she spoke of his beauty and loveliness. I can picture her ending by encouraging us to follow Him unreservedly and saying to those gathered; 

Your eyes will see the King in His beauty. (Isaiah 33:17)

I  picture her then going on to give us a glimpse into Heaven. What would she tell us about Heaven? Well, I’m reminded of a part in C S Lewis’s book ‘The Magician’s Nephew’.  As the creation of Narnia was unfolding before the eyes of a London cabbie who had been dragged from his world into a newly emerging Narnia, the cabbie said 'Glory be!…. 'I'd ha' been a better man all my life if I'd known there were things like this.’ She would describe to us the ‘things like this’ and would quote to us 1 Cor 2:9, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him”. She would spur us on to walk more closely to Christ and be obedient to Him at all cost. 
And finally, she would remind us of 2 Cor 4:17,

Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. (2 Cor 4:17)

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” (Hebrews 10:35-36 )

At its longest, life is short for all of us. Let us always carry with the sense of glory that we will one day enter into, and live our lives in such a way, making the most of the time that we have, to bring others closer to Him and bring glory to His name. 

Pauline Anderson