A BIG Question (re: theology)

[Jason]

I recently heard the testimony of an 18 year old kid who had been battling cancer for years and was finally told he had about a month to live. The kid was at peace, which is astonishing, but it brought a question to mind and I'd like to pose it to the forum:

If you only had a month to live, which theological subjects would still interest you and which would you drop immediately?

[Michelle]

To be honest, Jason, if I found out I only had a month to live, all theological subjects would be dropped. After all, in a month or so, I would be finding out the correct views from the Master, or, perhaps more likely, finding out that none of what seemed so important to discuss in this life was all that important, after all. Instead, I would spend the month reassuring those whom I love that I do indeed love them, as well as expressing my joy that I would soon be with my Lord.

[Jason]

Michelle, I tend to agree with your sentiments. I know the whole "live like you were dying" thing is a bit cliche these days but many of us have divided over issues that we'd all drop in the face of impending death. What this means, practically speaking - I don't know.

[Suzana]

I know the whole "live like you were dying" thing is a bit cliche these days but many of us have divided over issues that we'd all drop in the face of impending death. What this means, practically speaking - I don't know.

I know the question was specifically to do with theological subjects, but I don’t think it would be very practical to really live like we were literally about to die in the very near future.
For example, I if I had only a month left on this earth, I wouldn’t be staying on at work; I would want to see as much of my family as possible, & tie up any loose ends - put my affairs in order; praying for my loved ones, and finding out if there was anything specific God wanted me to do while still here.

I also probably would not be reading any books apart from the bible, & I’d say I wouldn’t be watching any movies or TV – maybe the news occasionally.

However, to drop everything now while I can reasonably expect to live another few decades would be irresponsible - certainly, & at least the working for my living bit.
(And my family & friends might start dropping hints to go away & leave them alone)!

Since we are followers of Jesus and belong to the kingdom of God, I think it’s natural that we want to explore spiritual matters and biblical doctrine, and how these apply to our lives;
of course we need to ensure that while doing so we are not neglecting our immediate responsibilities, spiritual or natural; also that our attitude remains Christ-like at all times. This would mean that we should not be dividing over issues we disagree about if those issues are not vital to the practical outworking of obedient Christian living.
I suppose working out what the vital issues are would be one of the topics to discuss, which I think was the original question!