The Last Day

In my religion we hear about "the last day," as in being raised on the last day.  Many people think this means the end times or the end of the world or the last judgment, when bad people get what is coming to them and the good ones who endured this life with get their reward.  The last day is not about the future.  It is about the now.  It is the day you stop doing what destroys you and those around you, and begin to love ever so slowly in a healing, whole and holy direction. Think of the alcoholic who says, "That was the last day I drink."  The last day refers to the most recent end time of bad and destructive behavior.  To keep it as the same last day, one needs a daily dose of spiritual commitment and practice.  Otherwise, the last day will continue to be your most recent day.  Bad behavior is not a singular act.  It is a bad habit.  Self-will is inadequate to get over a bad habit.  In my religion you need God.  Not just an intellectual belief in the existence of God or a prayer of desperation quickly uttered with no follow-up.  It means the daily grind which is sometimes difficult, boring, and showing no rapid improvement.  But if that last day recedes more and more into the past, then you are indeed growing towards "eternal life," in the here and now.  It does not always have whistles and bells.