FUMANCHU

A DeWalt cordless drill I own has a meter showing how much battery life remains before it’s dead. Sometimes it shows none, yet still has a few sparks remaining—good for a few more holes. I can then recharge and it’s ready for another two or three hours use. I suppose this would be called “life cycle” or “lifecycle” depending on what English teacher you talk to.

Humans don’t have a meter on their heads or arms to show how much time they have remaining and perhaps that’s a good thing. I’m not sure how I’d handle this, especially if I was out on the road driving and the meter was almost on zero. Should I pull over or try to make it home?

Tim McGraw had a hit tune called, “Live Like You Were Dying” and it somewhat deals with a situation like this, yet in a serious manner.

The song lyrics talk about a man in his middle 40s discovering that he has cancer, with only a short time left to live. When asked what he planned to do during that time, he proceeds to describe a list.

Skydiving, Rocky Mountain climbing, ride an ornery ole bull named Fumanchu, love deeper, speak sweeter, forgive folks that he hadn’t forgiven, be a better husband, a truer friend, including reading The Good Book, which tells me he’s not talking about a Stephen King novel.

My cordless drill, when recharged, is good for a couple more hour’s use. There’s a distinct similarity between people and that tool and I’ll try to explain why in as few words as possible.

What Tim McGraw didn’t say in his song, most likely because he believes that listeners should already know this, is that the end of life isn’t the end to those of us knowing Jesus Christ. Upon acceptance of him as Savior we’re automatically recharged for eternity.

The only way my DeWalt drill will never go dead is if I leave it plugged in all the time. In essence, that’s what Jesus did for my life. He’s like a life extension cord. Once I plugged in to him there’s no turning me off. When I depart this world my soul moves on to another place, Heaven.

Going back to the Tim McGraw tune, what would I do if I knew the end was mere months away?

I’d probably attempt to emulate all of the things mentioned in the lyrics except for skydiving and riding Fumanchu. There’s good reason for this.

Death might be near, but there’s no need to expedite things!