You know what puts things into sharp focus? Death. That’s what. Clearly, I’m not talking about one’s own passing. Because that would make the phrase “sharp focus” a somewhat inert point. I’m referring instead to the brevity of life which brings our priorities into perspective.

In the last week, I attended two funerals, one online and the other in-person. In both instances, what became apparent to me is this: life is but a breath, and how we live it absolutely matters. At both funerals, the legacy that the person who passed left behind was not about their accomplishments, or how they killed it at their jobs, or the long list of degrees that they held. Their legacy was the lives they touched with the love of Christ.

It is Max Lucado who famously said: “Make major decisions in a cemetery.” In contemplating the fact that life is but a vapor, our all-important decisions become much less serious, our all-consuming anxieties become much less pressing, and our all-too-urgent goals become much less crucial.

Graveyards have the amazing capacity to put our days—and our decisions—into perspective. Attending someone’s funeral service helps us sift through life’s priorities and shows us what truly matters.

I don’t want to sound all ‘gloom and doom’ by talking about graveyards, but the truth is pondering the brevity of life is far from dark. It is, in fact, life-affirming. Here’s what I’m learning.

1. My life is much less mine than I thought

God breathed breath into my lungs. He is the very reason for my existence. He gives life. He takes it away. When I try to order my life without that perspective, I will mess up. Instead, may this be our prayer: Lord, my life is authored by You and hidden with Christ. May I live for Your glory.

2. My worries are much less worrisome than I thought

Okay, here’s a confession that I’m making to you, dear reader. Couple of nights ago, I woke up my dear husband from his sleep with this comment: “Babe, I’m so fat.” Yeah, that was the crazy, ridonculous worry of this Christian writer at 2:30 am. While not all our worries are so supremely silly, when we grasp how short life is, we are able to let go of things that don’t really matter. May this be our prayer: Lord, teach me to trust the God of all eternity. Help me to know that the enemy tries to keep me trapped in my anxieties but that You give me freedom. May I hand over all my worries to You.

3. My decisions are much less smart than I thought

While having an eternal perspective is helpful to fuel hope, can it really affect our daily decisions? Typically, I separate the two: daily decisions and eternity seem to have little to do with each other. But it is in learning to number our days that we gain a heart of wisdom. It is only when our vision is corrected to see heaven clearly that our decisions on earth can be made wisely. May this be our prayer: Lord, help me to make wise decisions knowing that I get to store up treasures in heaven and not on earth.

Let me end with these words of Joni Eareckson Tada from Heaven: Your Real Home,

When a Christian realizes his citizenship is in heaven, he begins acting as a responsible citizen of earth. He invests wisely in relationships because he knows they’re eternal. His conversations, goals and motives become pure and honest because he realizes these will have a bearing on everlasting reward. …He gives generously of time, money, and talent because he’s laying up treasure for eternity. He spreads the good news of Christ because he longs to fill heaven’s ranks with his friends and neighbors. All this serves the pilgrim well not only in heaven, but on earth; for it serves everyone around him.

Being heavenly-minded does not make us irrelevant on earth. It is, in fact, quite the opposite. When we lose our short-sightedness and gain an eternal perspective, we also tend to lose our self-centeredness and gain a legacy worth leaving behind.

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