A Life Well Lived

“A great loss for science”… I read the words – simple, true yet so inadequate.  The article was sharing the tragedy that Matthew Parker, president of the American Meteorological Society, died unexpectedly in his sleep.  The scientific community was suffering not only from the loss of an amazing scientist, but of a respected colleague and friend.  But for me Matthew Parker was so much more, he was my beloved “Uncle Matt”.

A week ago, family and friends gathered to celebrate my uncle’s life and mourn his death.  In moments like these, reality is hard to comprehend.  The loss is great.  But in the sadness, I am challenged.  Challenged by a life well lived.  Challenged by a man who was respected by all, known for his faith as well as his accomplishments, a man who lived with integrity and purpose while encouraging others to do the same.

For me I remember a brave, loving, and supportive man.  I say brave – because even as a 20-something-year-old bachelor he would host my brothers and I for the weekend.  Not too many men that age take on 3 young kids single-handedly.  But Matt did.  And as children we loved our trips to Georgia visiting, exploring, and having fun together as a family.  Later, as I grew into adulthood, I always knew I was loved as well as challenged and encouraged to be all that I could be.  Matt was a man who rarely talked about his own accomplishments, but instead wanted to know what I was learning and achieving.

Even with all I knew and respected about my uncle, last weekend I was given a greater glimpse into the full life Matt lived.  He was a man who was at the top of his career, but not through stepping over people or promoting himself.  Instead his friends and co-workers spoke of how his faith was important, how he invested in others, and how he was a team-player.

And Matt’s life challenges me to ask the question, what about me?  What am I known for?  Am I making my life count?  The reality is not one of us knows the number of days we have left or what the future holds.  But we do have the ability live today with purpose.  To make each day count.  To remember others.  And most importantly to live for God and for His purpose.

I love what C. T. Studd writes:
“Give me Father, a purpose deep,
In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e’er the strife,
Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

What about you?  What are you known for?  Is your daily life about Christ and His purpose?  Are you making your time count?  There are so many things that can rob you of God’s design. Or you can choose to live for Him.  And to invest in the people surrounding you.  Don’t wait for tomorrow – today is the day.

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Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.  Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.  Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”

James 4:13-15