“To be a truly happy person, one must contemplate death five times daily.”
That’s the pitch for a phone app called “WeCroak.” When Bianca Bosker saw the ad for the app, she got curious. She paid the 99 cents and downloaded it just to check it out.
Five times a day she began to get a notification: “Don’t forget, you are going to die.” The reminders popped up on her phone randomly and unexpectedly.
Just like death.
By the fourth week with the app, she said she noticed her perspective on life changing. For example, nervous before a speech, her phone pinged. She looked down at the screen and the notification said, “Don’t forget, you’re going to die.” And she thought, What’s a little public speaking next to the terrifying finality of my inevitable demise? Or, when she was at a friend’s wedding but distracted by a work deadline, she got the notification: “Don’t forget, you’re going to die.” She decided to quit worrying about the deadline and enjoy the party. Often the WeCroak notice interrupted her while she was aimlessly scrolling through social media, which would provoke her to get engaged in something more meaningful.
The last thing Jesus said to Simon Peter in the Gospel of John was how he was going to die. But it was the risen Christ who told him this. Jesus was on the other side of that experience himself, victoriously alive! Thus, our Lord’s reminder of our limited lives has a different quality to it when compared to other wisdom teachers. Every other wisdom tradition says you can live a more meaningful life by considering death. But Jesus says you can live a more meaningful life by considering eternity.
Peter knew his earthly life would have a bitter end and then he would rise to a forever joy with the Lord who loved him. That knowledge changed the way Peter made his decisions, chose his priorities, and faced his hardships.
Read this last conversation Jesus had with Simon Peter in John 21:18-25 and let it rearrange your priorities, too! We’ll study this passage at Hillcrest this Sunday at 10am.
--Tom
Tom Goodman serves as pastor at Hillcrest Church in Austin, Texas. His sermons are available on YouTube and the HillcrestToGo Podcast and you can find him on Facebook and Twitter. If someone forwarded this email newsletter to you, sign up here to receive Tom’s weekly devotional in your email inbox.