Last Arrow_int_Final.indd 1 7/11/17 4:55 PM Books by Erwin McManus The Artisan Soul: Crafting Your Life into a Work of Art Wide Awake: The Future Is Waiting Within You 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 Last Arrow_int_Final.indd 2 7/11/17 4:55 PM Last Arrow_int_Final.indd 3 7/11/17 4:55 PM The Last Arrow 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 author’s added emphasis. Details in some anecdotes and stories have been changed to protect the identities of the persons involved. Hardcover ISBN 978- 1- 60142- 953- 7 eBook ISBN 978- 1- 60142- 954- 4 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. WaterBrook® 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 aspects—Christianity. | Regret—Religious aspects—Christianity. | Vocation-—Christianity. Classification: LCC BV4598.2 .M363 2017 | DDC 248.4—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017016087 Printed in the United States of America 2017— First Edition 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Special Sales Most WaterBrook books are available at special quantity discounts when purchased in bulk by corporations, organizations, and special- interest groups. Custom imprinting or excerpting can also be done to fit special needs. For information, please e- mail [email protected] or call 1- 800- 603- 7051. Last Arrow_int_Final.indd 4 7/11/17 4:55 PM Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. — Psalm 127:4 To my arrows: Aaron Christopher McManus, who has never backed down from a fight, and to Mariah McManus Goss, who is as fearless as she is fierce. Long after I rest my bow and have struck my last arrow, there will still be arrows flying true: their names are Aaron and Mariah. The trajectories of their lives will take them far beyond the ground I have taken. If they were once my arrows, they are now my archers. I dedicate this book to them and the future they represent. Aaron and Mariah: You are the tip of the spear. You are the future. This is your fight. I pulled the bow back as far as I could and gave you all the strength I had to send you into flight. Fly far and true. Cross enemy lines. Hit the mark. Set captives free. Keep striking until the battle’s won. —D ad Last Arrow_int_Final.indd 5 7/11/17 4:55 PM C ontents Preface: The Battle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix 1 . The Point of No Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 . Save Nothing for the Next Life . . . . . . . . . 17 3 . Choose the Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 4 . Set Your Past on Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 5 . Refuse to Stay Behind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 6 . Act Like Your Life Depends on It . . . . . . . . . 91 7 . Stand Your Ground . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 8 . Find Your People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 9 . Know What You Want . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 10 . Battle Ready . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 Last Arrow_int_Final.indd 7 7/11/17 4:55 PM Preface t B he attle 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 isn’t 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 by- stander awkwardly peering into someone else’s 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 Last Arrow_int_Final.indd 9 7/11/17 4:55 PM x PrefaCe to move quickly. The radiation specialists informed me that sur- gery 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 I’m 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 day’s news, not before. I had to wonder if my words were more prophetic than intended. It caused me to begin to read my manu- script 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 Last Arrow_int_Final.indd 10 7/11/17 4:55 PM PrefaCe xi 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 deci- sion 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. Last Arrow_int_Final.indd 11 7/11/17 4:55 PM