When I die…

I celebrated my 29th birthday yesterday.

It seems surreal how the years tick bye. Kids have made time go faster. It never seemed to move like this in the past. But they grow up too fast, and I am getting gray hair as a byproduct.

But birthdays always get me thinking about life. Am I living the life I want to? Did this past year meet the expectation I set? What needs to change to make year 29 better than the ones in the past?

I will say that I ticked off a lot of boxes as a 28 year old.

My wife gave birth to our third child, our first girl. I published my first book. I ran a 100 mile race. I graduated with my masters degree. We bought a house.

And those are just some of the major accomplishments. There were many other good things that happened that just don’t make it to the highlight reel.

All the success has me feeling like Trump:

But am I winning races that matter? This is the question that haunts me.

There is only so much time that each of us is granted to live. Because our time is so limited, we should live each day with purpose. But what purpose should we pursue? To what should we be aiming?

For me, the only race worth running is the one that Christ has set out before me. I don’t have time for meaningless side quests. I don’t want to get caught up in accomplishing goals that do not matter and sacrifice the things that do matter. Christ has set forth a purpose filled life for me. And he has one for you as well.

One of the most refining thoughts that I have is a question every person is able to ask themselves: is the thing I am doing right now something I want to be remembered for when I die?

For example, I spend a lot of time looking at stocks and placing trades. But that is not something I want to be remembered for. I like to golf, but it is not something that I want in my obituary. If my pastor only talks about my long distance running, I will consider myself a failure.

I love to do all those things. But the burden God has placed on my heart is towards something different.

C.T. Studd, a Christian missionary, had a quote on his own passing that I’d like to adopt as my own:

I want to live a life not for the honor of men but one that echoes into eternity for the sake of the kingdom of God.

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