I just received some difficult news about a dear friend of mine. The news came while I was preparing a sermon for this Sunday on 1 John 1:1–4. Because it involved a serious health issue they will now have to walk through, I found myself thinking about how to put into words what my heart was feeling.

Life has a way of bringing news we never expected. No one plans to get sick. No one looks forward to receiving bad news from a doctor or facing a life-threatening disease. Most of us live our daily lives without thinking much about those possibilities. But the news comes, and when it does, it hits hard, even when the diagnosis isn’t our own.

Right now, I feel like there is a hole in my heart. My chest feels heavy as I think about what my friend must be experiencing and what their family must be feeling. It is one thing to hear about someone else facing a serious illness. It is another thing entirely to be told that you are now that person.

The reality is that at some point, each of us will face the end of this life. Some will leave suddenly, while others will walk through a prolonged illness. Either way, there will come a moment when our time here is over. That is something we easily lose sight of while living from one day to the next.

Back in January 2025, I wrote an article entitled Death Bed Theology, where I reflected on how thinking about our final moments can actually help us live more wisely today. I wrote, “A theology that teaches us to number our days helps us gain wisdom for navigating the challenges of everyday life.” That thought came from Psalm 90:12: “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

We should live with the understanding that our days are numbered. Perhaps that perspective would spare us from wasting precious moments arguing with our spouse, holding grudges, complaining about what we do not have, or continually dwelling on what someone has done against us. Living with the end in view gives us a filter through which to evaluate what really matters. It can keep us from making decisions based only on what we feel in the moment.

I want to enjoy the relationships God has given me instead of dwelling on people’s faults. I want to hear the laughter of my children and grandchildren and treasure the time I have with them. I want to think well of others and hold on to what is good rather than constantly dwelling on their faults and dysfunctions, as though I do not have faults and dysfunctions of my own.

When my final moments come, I don’t want to regret that I didn’t spend enough time with my family or my church family. I don’t want to look back and realize how much time I wasted trapped in my feelings, replaying offenses, or allowing myself to be consumed by the sins others committed against me. Maybe I need to remind myself that my last moment could come at any moment. Maybe I need to live with an eternal perspective, knowing that I have found life in the Lord and that, because of that life, I am free to love others as He has commanded me.

The news I received today reminded me that moments are just that: moments. They come, and they go quickly. Even the time I spent writing the previous paragraph is already gone. Just like that. Time moves forward, and I cannot get it back. That reality should turn my heart and mind toward what is eternal.

I am praying for my dear friend. I don’t know what the future holds or how much time we will have together in this life. But I do know what awaits those who belong to Christ. This is where the words I have been studying in 1 John become especially precious: “the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us” (1 John 1:2).

Jesus Christ is eternal life, and that life has been revealed to us. Because we have fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3), death does not have the final word. Those who belong to Christ have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them and the promise of eternal fellowship with God.

So while I don’t know what the coming days hold for my friend, for their family, or even for me, I know who holds eternity. There is coming a day when those who are in Christ will be together in the presence of God. The Father will be there. The Son will be there. And the fellowship we experience now through the Spirit will reach its fullness in His presence.

God is the First and the Last. When all the fleeting moments of this life have finally passed, being with Him will be the best end of all things.