WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT?

A 1966 movie with Michael Caine and a subsequent remake about 5 years or so ago asked the fundamental question in song. I think Dionne Warwick sang it for the movie, "What's it All About, Alfie?"

The next line is the key: "is it just for the moment we live?" We know from scripture that our time on earth has been described as a mist or vapor. But what if we knew that today would be our last day before being called home? By the way, that was what was written by poet Emily Dickinson just before she died,"Called home."

Wouldn't we want to hold that good-bye kiss just a little longer? Wouldn't we want to look deeply into the eyes of our loved ones? Wouldn't we want to exaggerate all our senses? Wouldn't we feel that we needed to breathe in more of God's creation? Wouldn't we feel like soon we would be in the presence of our heavenly Father? And soon we would be faced with the decision, "will I dance for you, Jesus, or in awe of you be still?"

Would we be like Rick Warren's father when he was dying," I want to win one more for Jesus?" How could we put a final punctuation point on our Christian legacy? Whom would we need to phone, to get in touch with one final time? What would our last words be? In our last moments would we be in the Word? Which scripture would we be reading?

Too many questions. Not any answers. Maybe not even a good topic today. But the 70's poster spouting, "Today is the first day of the rest of your life," may be inspirational, even in 2007. But I'm not convinced that Alfie, more specifically "Is it just for the moment we live?" if we consider it to be our last day here might not be all that bad to live by.