A recent conversation with a colleague got me thinking about life.

She shared that her good friend recently passed away. As a responsible educator, this person devoted much of himself to work, often staying late and working on weekends. Sadly, he collapsed of a heart attack while on holiday with his wife and child.

How fleeting life is! And I don’t mean that as a cliche, but it really is the truth – we humans are but flesh and will die.

You have probably heard this common phrase before: “Begin with the end in mind”. What if we extended this to our lives?

What do we want to see at the end of it? When we meet Jesus again, what do we want to talk about?

Perhaps like me, you envision your death to be from old age – perhaps well into your 80s. You lie on a bed surrounded by family, as the doctor tells your family that “it’s time”. They say tearful goodbyes, kiss you on the forehead and you smile, as your eyes close gently.

But my recent car accident knocked that idea out of my head completely.

The scene often replays in my head vividly: the collision, the car swerving across the highway and crashing into the side of the bridge, the loud cries to Jesus in the car, and then the silence when we realised we were alive.

The truth is we have no idea when we will die. And that isn’t a fearful, anxiety-ridden realisation. Instead, it’s a deep understanding that my days are numbered.

So what does matter in life?

Palliative care nurse Bronnie Ware recorded down her patients’ reflections at the end of their lives. She put together a Top 5 list on regrets of the dying.

1. I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
3. I wish I had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish I had let myself be happier

These are good points for reflection about our own lives.

But of greater significance than these human regrets, is the conversation we will have with Christ when we meet Him – what would that sound like?

Perhaps in those moments, some of us would end up thinking, “I wish I had the courage to live a life obedient to Christ, not the life others expected of me” or “I wished I had spent more time knowing Jesus”.

I don’t want to end up with those regrets. I can tell you how I want my end-of-life conversation with Jesus to sound like.

So what a horrid day it would be, if I were to find myself standing apart from Christ at the end of it all, having to try and justify myself: “I ate and drank with you, and listened to your teaching”.

What if He said to me, “I do not know you”?

“When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’

“Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!” (Luke 13:25 -27)

You see, so many of us go to church and listen to sermons – but know Jesus like one might know a stranger through Facebook or Instagram.

We know some of what Jesus has said, we know the names of His friends, we know what He got up to when He was alive.

But do we know Him? Do we know His heart for His people? His eternal plan for man? His love for the Church – His bride? His compassion for the marginalised? His holy wrath towards sin and evil? His holiness and glory?

And does He know us? Does Jesus recognise us as His sheep? As one who hears His voice and follows Him?

Initially, I had wanted to write about how we like to spend all our time in life on work and material things.

But I was struck by the Holy Spirit to zoom in on the core of things – it’s all about Jesus.

Do you know Him, and will He know you?

What truly matters is knowing Jesus, and Him knowing us. If we live intentionally to know Him and walk with Him, then our choices in life and the things we spend our time on would naturally change.

My prayer today is that God would teach us to number our days so that we can have a heart of wisdom.

With that wisdom, may we live intentionally to pursue our Saviour Jesus Christ, to know Him and walk with Him. To love Him. To listen to His voice and follow Him.

To choose Him and His heart over our selfish ambitions. To hear where He is calling us to and follow Him there, rather than be driven by worldly opportunities and restlessness.

To know Him deeply, invest in His bride and love His people.

This article was first published on Delphne’s blog and has been republished with permission.