This past weekend I spent my time on a retreat focused on dying to oneself and living your life in servitude to the Lord.

Dying to oneself. Dying to one’s own selfishness, lustfulness, pride. Dying to one’s possessions, wants, and sinfulness.

Dying to oneself is giving up control. Control of your life, your plans, your dreams. Giving up control and uniting your will to God.

These past few years many of my young friends and family members who have died to both themselves and physically. I’ve attended to many funerals and cried far too many times.

One person who has always sticks out is my friend Wes. He passed away about six months ago at the young age of twenty-two from inoperable brain cancer.

He knew He was going to die. But even before He knew, before He was put in hospice, before He had even been diagnosed, He had died to himself. He was attending Catholic Seminary, spending His summers working Catholic summer camps. He was underpaid and underappreciated. He was in an unimaginable amount of pain, but He never let it keep Him from smiling, laughing, and sharing Christ’s light to everyone.

I used to think that I would have plenty of time. Plenty of time to devout my life to Christ. I could live for myself now, while I’m young, and Christ can have me when I’m sixty or seventy or ninety.

But it doesn’t work like that.

We don’t know God’s plan for us. We don’t know when inoperable cancer will pop up, or a car accident, or any sort of crazy incident that could result in the loss of our life.

Dying is not in our plan. It is completely out of our control. And if I die tomorrow, next week, or next year, will I be ready? Will God accept me back? If I die young, will I get to heaven?

I honestly don’t know. None of us really do.

So I urge you, stop putting it off. Stop waiting for tomorrow.

Die today.

Die to your sin, your selfishness.

Begin living your life for God.

Now.

Because, tomorrow is not promised.