Luke 7:11-17 (ESV)

¹¹ Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. ¹² As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. ¹³ And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” ¹⁴ Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” ¹⁵ And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. ¹⁶ Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” ¹⁷ And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

As Jesus came near the gate surrounding the city of Nain, he encountered a funeral procession. During these types of funerals, corpses were taken outside the city walls and placed in a family plot. This time, the deceased was the only son of a widow. Her husband was dead, and now her child was gone too. A large crowd came with her as those who loved this broken widow grieved together with her. When Jesus saw her, he had compassion on her. The dead body of her son would have been visible, although covered by a cloth. Jesus touched the plank that carried the corpse and spoke to the dead man! What in the world was Jesus doing talking to a dead body? Jesus said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” The dead man sat up, he spoke, and Jesus presented the son, alive, to his mother. The frenzied spectators were afraid, and they gave glory to God. We may forget that Jesus wasn’t a fan of death. It actually wasn’t in God’s original design for humanity. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command, sin entered into the world and the process of death began. Jesus didn’t say death was great, a “part of life,” or that we should learn to love it. On the contrary, death is a termination of this life.

Even though Jesus graciously brought the widow’s son back to life, the man would go on to die again. We will all die too. As time proceeds, either you will attend the funeral of a loved one, or you will be dead yourself. In Psalm 90, Moses prayed for God’s people, asking God to help us number our days so that we might get a heart of wisdom. If we are willing to continually remember that this day may be our last, it will change the decisions we make. What if you knew this day would be your very last? What would you do? Would you make a phone call to tell someone how much you love him? Would you do whatever it takes to fix a broken relationship? Would you communicate the gospel to as many as you possibly could? Or would you fully surrender your life to Jesus in repentance and faith? May God answer the prayer of Moses in our lives. Let’s determine to finish without regrets, and live each day as if it were our last one on earth.