We should all recognize the title of this post. We have all heard it, but do we really heed it’s warning? Things happen in our lives that reminds us how short and precious life is and that our days are numbered on this earth. This reminder is felt even more deeply upon the loss of a loved one. I recently endured such a loss after the unexpected passing of my brother of 46 years of age.
As we go through the process of mourning the loss of a loved one I image we must all have similar thoughts regarding our own mortality and the how we have spent our lives up to that point. What will the measure of our life be after we are gone? Have we really given our attention to matters that were important? Or, have we wasted much of the gift God has given to us in the form of our life. In moments like these we can find ourselves promising to pay greater attention to important matters and find ourselves saying “After this I am going to make time for….” But the idea that we can “make time” is part of the problem itself. We can make many things but “time” is not one of them.
What if instead we embrace the idea that we are each given an allotment of time upon our birth known only to God and all we can do is budget and spend it. With what care would we treat time if we recognized its great value and its irreplaceable nature. Do we treat our time as though it is gift that has great value? Do we budget and spend it on items which are of value, or do we squander it on wasteful trinkets?
Bottom line.. life is short. It is our duty to use this great gift of time to prepare ourselves for our eternal life. Is there any better way to spend the currency of our life than in preparation for our time to come in the presence of our Lord? Our Order seeks some of that currency of time from our members by asking them to serve others in their parishes and communities. But why do we as Knights put emphasis on serving others? The simple answer is because our Lord told us to in Matthew 25:40: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Can you think of any better way for us to spend such a valuable resource than in our time serving our Lord and Savior? Is there truly any better way for us to prepare for our eternal life than this? I think not.
But our works and service alone are not enough because without prayer and spiritual development we are lost and our purpose can become misdirected. As Knights must always work harder to develop a personal intimate relationship with Christ. We must all strive to ensure that our activities within our councils demonstrate the recognition that our lives revolve around prayer and the sacraments. It is our baptismal duty, through our common priesthood to reach out to those around us and help them in their journey of preparation for the coming of our Lord. Let us all work together to make each of our councils a place where we, by our example of service and spiritual preparation, reach out to those around us and provide for them a means to spend their most valuable asset, their time, to glorify God through their lives.
In the coming days, please ask yourself this question “Am I budgeting and spending my time on something of value, or am I squandering it on worthless trinkets?” Death will come to us all. We know not where, nor when, nor how… how prepared are you?