Of Death and Dreams - A Life Well-Lived for the Lord

Huaqiang and I were talking over supper, when the conversation moved to the death of a sister's friend, and to our own friends' deaths.

And we were reminded of how short life really is.

And I remember reading the article recently about the 5 Singaporean dragon-boat racers who drowned. And highlighted in red above two photos were, in a way, epitaphs of two different persons' lives.

One's epitaph was: "I am a leader and I hope to set a positive example for young people to have the courage to achieve their dreams."

And the other was by a grieving father: "Without a word, he just left."

I'm not judging between the two lives, just by these epitaphs... but these two lines struck me especially, since it was on the day I came back from the HopeKids DreamsRetreat. Strangely timely...

And as I think about it now, what really counts as a life worthy of the Lord's calling then?

• Is it the relationships that you have built over the years?
• Is it the accomplishments and achievements that you have done?
• Is it the number of people you brought to the Lord and discipled them?
• Is it the quality of the work that you did and your testimony as a worker?
• Is it the number of poor people that you fed and cared for?
• Is it the transformative impact you had on society?

For a phlegmatic like me, I'd think that the first question deserves a yes, and let's chuck all our medals and trophies into the trashcan since "he who dies with the most toys still dies".

But thinking further, I think it's not as simple as that. Looking through the Bible, I realise that God looks at every inch and aspect of our lives, and He has made very clear what His standards for a life well-lived are.

A good character in God's eyes and faithfulness with what He has entrusted to me are what truly counts at the end of time. I can't separate the two from each other - they are faith and deeds going together hand-in-hand.

For instance, the more I work, the more I realise (rather belatedly) the importance of being a good and effective worker - not because I want to impress my boss, but because my attitude at work speaks much louder for my God than my words can do.

And thinking deeper, perhaps an even more concise way of evaluating the worth of a life lived is to simply see whether one lived for himself or for others - even to the point of laying down one's life to save others.

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many."