Acts 20:32-38

Paul is aware at this point that uncertain days lie ahead of him. This is his farewell speech to the believers, and similar to many of the patriarchs of old, he is making sure there are no outstanding debts before he sets sail, never to see them again this side of heaven. Consider Samuel's farewell speech to the Israelites in 1 Samuel 12:1–5:

“Then Samuel addressed all Israel: ‘I have done as you asked and given you a king. Your king is now your leader. I stand here before you—an old, gray-haired man—and my sons serve you. I have served as your leader from the time I was a boy to this very day. Now testify against me in the presence of the Lord and before his anointed one. Whose ox or donkey have I stolen? Have I ever cheated any of you? Have I ever oppressed you? Have I ever taken a bribe and perverted justice? Tell me and I will make right whatever I have done wrong.’ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘you have never cheated or oppressed us, and you have never taken even a single bribe.’ ‘The Lord and his anointed one are my witnesses today,’ Samuel declared, ‘that my hands are clean.’ ‘Yes, he is a witness,’ they replied.”

As our time here on earth draws to a close, there is often a desire to make sure we are ready to meet our Maker with a clean slate. Not that we have lived perfect lives, for there is only One who has, but to the best of our ability, we want to make sure our debts—in every sense—are paid. The hope is to leave this life with as few regrets as possible, though undoubtedly there will be some. When people know their time is short, facades tend to fall away. Things that should have been said years earlier suddenly become important. It is a blessing to have the opportunity to say them, for not everyone does. It is equally a blessing for those who have been wronged to extend forgiveness so that a loved one can depart in peace.

God is not one to leave unfinished business. How many times have we heard people who have lost someone say, "Tell people you love them, because there may come a day when you no longer can." Who wants to live with the regret of leaving words of love, gratitude, or forgiveness unspoken? Life is too short to allow petty squabbles to separate us, and God does not look kindly on an unforgiving heart, considering all He has forgiven us. As far as it depends on us, we should live at peace with everyone.

Perhaps the greater lesson is not to wait until the end. We are not promised tomorrow. If there is forgiveness to extend, appreciation to express, or reconciliation to pursue, today is the day. A life lived with short accounts before God and others is a life that is always ready—whether the Lord calls us home today or many years from now.