It ought to be the business of every day to prepare for our last day. ~ Matthew Henry
Alfred Nobel dropped the newspaper and put his head in his hands. It was 1888. Nobel was a Swedish chemist who made his fortune inventing and producing dynamite. His brother, Ludvig had died in France. But now Albert’s grief was compounded by dismay. He’d just read an obituary in a French newspaper—not his brother’s obituary, but his! An editor had confused the brothers. The headline read “The Merchant of Death is Dead.” Alfred Nobel’s obituary described a man who had gotten rich by helping people kill one another.
Shaken by this appraisal of his life, Nobel resolved to change his legacy. When he died eight years later, he left more than $9 million to fund awards for people whose work benefited humanity. The awards became known as the Nobel Prizes.
Alfred Nobel had a rare opportunity — to look at the assessment of his life at its end and still have a chance to change it. Before his life was over, Nobel made sure he had invested his wealth in something of lasting value.
Five Minutes After We Die
At the end of the movie Schindler’s List, there’s a heart wrenching scene in which Oskar Schindler—who bought from the Nazis the lives of many Jews—looks at his car and his gold pin and regrets that he didn’t give more of his money and possessions to save more lives. Schindler had used his opportunity far better than most. But in the end, he longed for a chance to go back and make better choices.
Unbelievers have no second chance to relive their lives, this time choosing Christ. But Christians also get no second chance to live life over, this time doing more to help the needy and invest in God’s kingdom. We have one brief opportunity—a lifetime on earth—to use our resources to make a difference.
John Wesley said, “I judge all things only by the price they shall gain in eternity.” Missionary C.T. Studd said, “Only one life, ’twill soon be past; Only what’s done for Christ, will last.”
Five minutes after we die, we’ll know exactly how we should have lived. But God has given us His Word so we don’t have to wait to die to find out. And He’s given us His Spirit to empower us to live that way now.
Ask yourself, Five minutes after I die, what will I wish I should have give away while I still had the chance? When you come up with an answer, why not give it away now? Why not spend the rest of our lives closing the gap between what we’ll wish we would have given and what we really are giving?
Nobel managed to change his legacy in this world. We have the far more strategic opportunity to change our legacy in the world to come. When you leave this world will you be known as one who accumulated treasures on earth that you couldn’t keep? Or will you be recognized as one who invested treasures in heaven that you couldn’t lose?
Put yourself in Alfred Nobel’s shoes… Sit down; think about it; then write your own obituary. Make a list of what you’ll be remembered for. Go ahead.
…. Done? Now read your obituary. How do you feel about it? Try writing it again, this time from the perspective of heaven, perhaps written by an observing angel. Do you think God is pleased with your earthly life.
Maybe you’re living a life that is Christ-centered, with few regrets. Maybe you’re daily laying up treasures in heaven. Or maybe not. If you’re like me, you wish heaven’s summary of your life were more pleasing to the Audience of One. You may be discouraged by that you’ve written. If so don’t lose hope. The good news is that you’re still here! Like Nobel, you have the opportunity—with God’s empowerment—to edit your life, and thereby your obituary into what you want it to be.
~ Randy Alcorn, “The Treasure Principle” Multnomah Books 2001 p. 79-82
