Carpe Diem

Throughout the time that my dad was ill, the one saying he continually said was, “Enjoy every moment that we spend with each other, and take life day by day.” I accepted his challenge, and we enjoyed our last year together on this earth with great passion and enthusiasm. We got to fit so much into a year, and I wouldn’t trade that time for anything.

My dad took that same challenge he’d given me, and he translated it to our basketball team. He told us not to overlook any day for what lay ahead. “Work hard,” he would say. “You never know when this day may be your last, so give all you have for the moment.” I think about that all the time now, and I find it compelling that he lived life each day with all he had. Now he is up in heaven, never worrying about time or things of this world. That makes me smile, and it really puts all of life in perspective.

My dad realized that his life was a vapor, so why should he not take every moment and live for Christ? He looked beyond his circumstances to things that will never fade. Although my best friend on this earth is gone now, I take the challenge that my dad gave me and live day by day. My dad’s challenge got him through grueling chemotherapy and surgeries and helped him to love the year God had given him.

In the passage above and its surrounding context, Jonathan and his armor-bearer give an excellent example of how two men lived for the day. They realized that day could be one that could impact their nation. God placed an idea in Jonathan’s mind to take on 20 men for the cause of God’s people. Then Jonathan took action toward that vision, compelling and motivating his friend to live for the day with him. No matter how crazy this situation may seem to us, they lived that day as if it was their last.

How can living for the day affect our lives? That is a very good question. You see, God expects us to live every day as to the fullest. Sometimes we are so busy that we wish the day, week, month or year away, instead of maximizing life. If everyone around the world lived life to the fullest, people would be more kind, passionate and more apt to do everything with all their hearts. Christians might be more compelled to engage every situation and make it honoring to God.

Today, life your life the way God intended you to live it! Don’t waste the day, seize it!