In the Smith household Monday night is DVD night. Tonight was no exception. We watched the movie "Last Holiday" starring Queen Latifah and LL Cool J. A real feel good movie. The story centres on a woman who is told she has 3 weeks to live. She suddenly considers all the things she wanted to do, some of the possibilities that had not came to pass. So taking her life savings she flies 1st class to Prague, stays at a 5 star hotel in the Presidential Suite, meets her favourite chef and says to people exactly what she thinks of them. A typical sentimental, American comedy but fun all the same!

It made me think what are the things I would do if I had 3 weeks to live. Now this is not a depressive thought. We put off so many things for the future. Especially the things of God. The Bible says "Do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matt. 6:34) This is a call to "Carpe Diem" (Sieze the day!). If you are anything like me there is so much I want to sort out. I need to lose a couple of pounds, there's a standing order I keep forgetting to set up, my house needs re-wiring. I guess I could go on. Can this stuff wait? Is this wise? If I wait there is a chance that there will be even more stuff to sort out!

All this pales into insignificance at the side of some of the internal stuff that needs sorting. Matthew 23:27-28 says You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Do you sometimes live with the thought "what if people found out about the real me. The secret stuff that only I know about?" However, this is not really helpful thinking. There is no stuff that is secret from God. He knows exactly what is in our whitewashed tombs. As for me I am commiting to clear out some of the dead, decaying and dirty stuff out of my life, how about you?