How we live is how we will die.
That doesn’t mean an accountant will be crushed by ledger books. Neither will a teacher fatally choke on chalk dust. A stay-at-home dad won’t suffocate under a pile of putrid diapers, and a politician? It is doubtful that the offices he holds will overwhelm him and suck the life from his body.
How we live is how we will die has to do with our minds, our thoughts, and the way we approach those around us. It means that our lifestyle can come back to haunt us; those we have mistreated will remember our cruelty; and if we’ve been careless with our own bodies, they will be careless with us.
Essentially, what we’ve done to others, they will do unto us.
It works the other way, also. If we lead a lifestyle that is filled with moments of caring, others will care for us. If we’ve treated our physical selves with respect, our flesh will perform at its best for all of our days.
Spiritually, the same is true. How we live is how we will die.
John 14:26 tells us:
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
Jesus came to show us how to live well, because he understood this lesson. How we live is how we will die. He wanted us to live well, and he gave his life to give us that opportunity. Even when his end was upon him, he spoke the same lesson to his disciples.
Matthew 26:52-54 says:
“Then Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?’ ”
If we live by the sword, he said, we will die by the sword.
However, many soldiers die in their beds after living long lives. Does everyone who flashes steel die by steel?
With that question, we’ve hit the nail squarely on the head. Jesus’ words have nothing to do with physical life or death. He came driven with a spiritual purpose, and his words were all about our spiritual selves. It’s when we realize his real intent in coming to our world and allowing himself to be crucified that we realize the truth.
That truth? Let’s look at it again. How we live is how we will die, either spiritually alive or spiritually dead. All the other stuff we hold up as so important, our position in the community, bank accounts, and the latest shoes, are fluttering leaves that fall away when summer ends. They are important, but without Jesus, we are already dead.
We have to get this down. How we live is how we will die.
Let’s live in Jesus.
When Jesus lives in us, we will live spiritually in him.
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Code: FGO.J.28.14.vp