Live Like You Were Dying

Romans 8:1-11 (New International Version, ©2010)

Romans 8
Life Through the Spirit
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you[a] free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,[b] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.[c] And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life[d] because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of[e] his Spirit who lives in you.

I am not a big country music fan, but when my Dad was diagnosed the first time around with cancer my brother shared the song "Live Like You Were Dying" with my father and this Bible passage reminds me of this song.

During college my brother lost one of his good friends, Scott Rollins. Jake's friend was driving on the highway and his car collided head on with a drunk driver. Scottie and his girlfriend did not make it. I think this was my brothers first close friend that lost his life. He and all of his buddies had a pretty tough time wrapping their heads around it. When someone that is your age, shares your interests and looks a lot like you is here one day and gone the next, it is pretty life altering.

Jake has a big picture of Scottie in his office. I only met Scottie a couple times (during a few of the MANY beer runs that my brother and his friends required of the older sister), but when I look at the picture blown up in Jake's office it still shakes my world. Scottie had the same smile as my little brother. HUGE, every tooth showing, genuine smile that Jake has. That could have been my little brother in the accident. That could have been your little brother or your precious son in that car accident. Scottie was someone's son, someone's brother, someone's friend.

Scottie's huge group of friends, who I'm sure also questioned WHY, decided shortly after his passing that they were each going to LIVE life. They weren't going to sit back and watch their life pass them by. No longer were they going to sit on the sidelines and look on as the years passed them by. They were going to LIVE for Scottie. At his funeral, all these unbreakable, young, strong men listened intently as they played "Live Like You Were Dying" in honor of their friend that had been taken too soon. They vowed to be present in each moment of their lives. No longer taking for granted that the sun will rise another day. You just never know.

When my dad asked me if had ever heard the song I looked it up. I like the song much better when I simply read the lyrics (ok, I really don't like country music;)). I liked the lyrics and the reason Tim McGraw wrote the song immediately. Only later did my brother tell me of his reason for sharing the song with my dad and the connection to Scottie. Knowing Jake's reason for sharing the song with my dad allowed me to break my no listening to country music rule. My favorite lines from the song:

"And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter,
"And I gave forgiveness I'd been denying."
"Well, I finally read the Good Book,
"And I took a good long hard look."

Small cell lung cancer has very unfavorable odds. The oncologist (Dr. Ritter if anyone needs a wonderful, to the point, oncologist) told my dad at his very first appointment to live each day, be present in each moment, don't wait to take a trip that you've been wanting to make. Live like you are dying. Most of the time in life we are completely unaware that our time on earth is nearing the end, but that does not mean that we can't live like we are dying!

Romans 8:1-11 is overflowing with hope. It depicts exactly how we can begin to live like we are dying. Although we are still physically in the flesh, we are also in the spirit, since the spirit of God lives in us. This passage is the solution to our sin. "2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you[a] free from the law of sin and death." In order to authentically live our life, we must feed this spirit living within us and starve the flesh that offers a life full of sin and death. Love deeper, speak sweeter, forgive freely, read the Good Book and take a good long hard look. Feed the spirit living within you! Live a life full of peace. Don't wait until the doctor reads the test results or the drunk driver decides to drive in the wrong lane. Live like you are dying.