Don't get me wrong...I'm right there with you, with my personal "Bucket List" overflowing. But I found an old Arabian Tale that might shed some perspective on our priorities.
Three merchants were traveling across the desert on camels to a great city. Suddenly they heard a heavenly voice say, "Stop riding!" The men stopped. The voice continued, "Get off your camels and gather up some sand in your hands." The men obeyed. The voice continued, "Hold the sand in your hands for the rest of the journey." The men did as the supernatural voice commanded. As you can imagine it was not an easy ride, but they made it to their destination. When they opened their hands they saw that the sand they were holding had turned into jewels! They were ecstatic, but at the same time lamented, "If only I had known; we would have gathered up so much more sand while we had the chance."
Life is full of opportunities, yet sometimes we don't realize how valuable those opportunities were until it's too late. Jesus tells us,"Don't hoard treasure on earth where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or -worse!- stolen by thieves. Stockpile treasure in heaven where it's safe..."
Fortunately, it's never to late to start filling our "Bucket Lists" with eternal treasure. The bible tells us no deed will go unrewarded - even a cup of cold water to a stranger, a kind word to a hurting soul, or a prayer for your enemy in the middle of the night.
How big is your Bucket?
Scripture Reading: Revelation 22: 12, Mark 9:41
