I cannot restrain a few thoughts, and maybe just a dash of advice, on living each day to the fullest. If I could turn back time, I would try to be a better husband by telling my beloved every day how much I adored her and by spending more time with her and our children and less time on my business. I would go to more school activities, more PTA meetings, more ball games… I would spend more time reading my Bible, more time in prayer, and more time walking closer with God, realizing that life without God has no meaning. I will tell everyone to spend less time or worry about what to eat or what clothes to wear. If you are an American, you already have too much food and too many clothes.
For a young person, seeking advice from someone who’s been there and done that, I can tell them a few things I have learned during my ninety years on Earth. Continue your education all your life, whether it be in the classroom or from your life’s experiences. Read the Bible… it will convert your life to Christian principles and give you peace. Pray often to your God, and He will lead you to your life’s service. Search until you find the right person to marry…this is the second most important decision in your life. When you get a job, do it with all your might. “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.” (Ecclesiastes 9:1)
At the end of your life, you will find that the most important advice is to fear and to love God and keep His commandments as Solomon in his wisdom tells us. “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
Fearing God is to realize that God is the Creator of man, the universe and all. That by your faith and His amazing grace, your life is in His hands. Fearing God will light the path of your life as long as you live. As I continue on life’s road to my end, not knowing where I will be or when it will end, my belief sustains me. I am persuaded that God will keep me until that day He calls me to Heaven for a life change with a new body that will not wear out. I will enter His kingdom with the certainty of my faith.
I offer a prayer of benediction: I wish for you the best for your life on this Earth, may God bless you, and may you have everlasting life. “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.” (2 Thessalonians 3:16)
Thank you, Reese, for living out a parable to encourage all of us.
– Brian