And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them. Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them.
Acts 9:38-39
During the days of westward expansion in the United States, life on the frontier was anything but certain. Hundreds of people were buried alongside trails and in small cemeteries without much notice or remembrance. At one point, a Missouri newspaper called the Mountain Echo ran this notice: “If you have frequent fainting spells, accompanied by chills, cramps, corns, bunions, chilblains, epilepsy, and jaundice, it is a sign that you are not well, but liable to die any minute. Pay your subscription in advance and thus make yourself solid for a good obituary notice.”
Every day, we are making a record that people will remember after we are gone. We may never be famous or well known, but there are people whose lives we are impacting—for good or ill—and they will remember what we have done. The obituary that we are writing with our actions will long outlast anything that may be printed or posted online. The encouraging words we speak, the kind actions we perform, the generous gifts we give, and the faithful witness we present are the best kind of obituary there is to leave behind.
The opportunities of today will likely not be repeated tomorrow. We must seize each day and do all that we can for God and for others in it. In truth, none of us knows what the next day will bring. The only day we have for certain is this one, and we must not waste it. Jesus said, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:4).