McManus - The last arrow: save nothing for the next life

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Soul Cravings: An Exploration of the Human Spirit

The Barbarian Way: Unleash the Untamed Faith Within

Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul

Chasing Daylight: Seize the Power of Every Moment

An Unstoppable Force: Daring to Become the Church God Had in Mind

T HE L AST A RROW

All Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Italics in Scripture quotations reflect the authors added emphasis.

Details in some anecdotes and stories have been changed to protect the identities of the persons involved.

Hardcover ISBN9781601429537

Ebook ISBN9781601429544

Copyright 2017 by Erwin Raphael McManus

Cover design by Kristopher K. Orr; cover photography by Glen Allsop; creative direction by Aaron McManus

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published in the United States by WaterBrook, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

W ATER B ROOK and its deer colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: McManus, Erwin Raphael, author.

Title: The last arrow : save nothing for the next life / Erwin Raphael McManus.

Description: First Edition. | Colorado Springs, Colorado : WaterBrook, 2017. Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017016087| ISBN 9781601429537 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781601429544 (electronic)

Subjects: LCSH: Self-actualization (Psychology)Religious aspectsChristianity. | RegretReligious aspectsChristianity. | Vocation-Christianity.

Classification: LCC BV4598.2 .M363 2017 | DDC 248.4dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017016087

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Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in ones youth.

P SALM 127:4

I t was Thursday, December 15, 2016, when I sat across from the desk of my doctor and heard him say the words we hope to never hear: You have cancer. The signs had been there for years, but the news was still unexpected. There just isnt much you can do to prepare for that situation. The moment felt surreal to me. It was as if it were happening to someone else. I was an uncomfortable bystander awkwardly peering into someone elses life.

What shook me into reality was to see the shock and pain in the eyes of my wife, Kim, as those words sank into her soul. Watching her made the reality of it all much too real. Sharing this news with our kids only made the pain deeper and the sorrow felt like oceans.

The doctor went on to explain that I would need an MRI and a bone scan to determine the extent of the cancer. It would need to be determined whether the cancer had spread to my bones and vital organs. The biopsy returned malignant in five of the eight areas that were tested. I was told it was important for us to move quickly. The radiation specialists informed me that surgery was our best option. Afterward we would know the process and extent of treatment.

We love Christmas, and all this fell into our lives days before our favorite holiday. It was a heavy holiday season mixed with joy and sorrow. We were all too aware of the temporary nature of life and how precious every moment is that we are given.

It was on the same day that I learned my diagnosis that I opened my manuscript to finish my final edits of this book. It could not have been incidental that the very first line I read was one I had written nearly a year earlier: Before you hear it from someone else, I need to tell you that Im dying.

I could not believe I was reading those words. I could not believe I wrote them. It was as if my words were written after that days news, not before. I had to wonder if my words were more prophetic than intended. It caused me to begin to read my manuscript with a deeper and greater clarity than when I wrote it.

It seems strange to say, but I was moved by the words I had written. I spoke of life and death and what it means to live without fear or regret. I spoke as a man who knew he was going to die. Now facing the prospect of death, I only felt these words more deeply. I am writing this preface of The Last Arrow to tell you just that: I mean every word I have written. Even in the face of death. Especially in the face of life.

I finished this book wondering if it would be my last arrow. I know one thing for certain: I am not saving anything for the next life.

I am the pastor at Mosaic, and on the last Sunday before I went in for surgery, I gave a message that expressed my posture going forward. It was simply titled Battle Ready. I made a decision that while cancer may define how I die, it would not define how I live.

Life is a series of challenges, adventures, and yes, even battles. There will always be giants to subdue and dragons to slay. I have already decided to die with my sword in hand. There is more courage in us than danger ahead of us. You are strong enough for the battles ahead.

My intention for this book is that you would never surrender, that you would never settle, that you would save nothing for the next life.

May you die with your quivers empty.

May you die with your hearts full.