English
Korean
Spanish
Our family recently experienced major breaking news: Our 6-month-old grandson had his first taste of solid food. He started with mashed-up avocados and quickly graduated to sweet potatoes. He really liked the sweet potatoes, we’re told, and we know this because he apparently kept grabbing for the spoon to guide bite after bite into his mouth.
Now, if you’re speeding along in life’s fast lane as a younger person, that may not land all soft and sentimental on your heart the way it did for new grandparents like us. Every “first” as a parent felt like a big moment; as grandparents, those feelings are sweetly amplified. The first time we held him. His first Christmas. The first time we heard him chattering some nonsense that sounded to us like a beautiful chorus … you get the idea.
Not long ago, I came across a post on social media that provided a much different perspective: “At some point in your childhood, you and your friends went outside to play for the very last time—and nobody knew it.” I’d never thought about it that way and immediately began to consider other “lasts”—my last day of high school, my last day at work at the newspaper where I started my career, the last time I spoke to my mother before her death.
Equally as fascinating to me are the “lasts” that are still to come. At some point, I’ll write my last article. Read my last book. Take my last breath.
"Be sanctified at work. Be sanctified with your family. Be sanctified at the ballpark. Be sanctified in the classroom. Be sanctified (gulp) on social media. Be sanctified in all things."
These realities ought not discourage us. Instead, they should excite us about the opportunities God will provide as we move through whatever time He has appointed for us. In Ephesians 5, Paul writes, “Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise—making the most of the time, because the days are evil.” Other translations say we are to make the most of every opportunity.
Today is a gift. It may not feel like one, and you may feel like you’ve been giving a lot more than you’ve been getting lately. But for those in Christ, the gift is so much greater—we are promised eternity in heaven with our Lord and Creator, living in a perfect place with no more pain or sorrow or struggle. Until we get there, God has given each of us a mission.
On my best days, when I’m not sure what God wants me to do, I fall back on the command of 1 Thessalonians 4:3—“For this is the will of God, that you be sanctified.” In context, Paul is writing about sexual immorality, but the whole counsel of Scripture agrees that every follower of Christ is to apply this principle to every aspect of life. Be sanctified at work. Be sanctified with your family. Be sanctified at the ballpark. Be sanctified in the classroom. Be sanctified (gulp) on social media. Be sanctified in all things.
Why? Because someone within your hearing may be about to experience a first. It may be the first time they have interacted with someone who is a Christian. And in some cases, someone may be experiencing a last. I wonder how many times we come into contact with someone who is spending their last day on earth. It probably happens more than we think.
All the more reason we should make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious. Be kind. Be honest. Be courageous. After all, we never know when it will be our first—or last—chance to do so.
