Life.

I know that you have a lot going on. If you are reading this, I assume that it is probably a break from your other myriad responsibilities. Or maybe you are a bum, sipping coffee in a Starbucks somewhere, goofing off while attempting to maximize your caffeine consumption. Maybe both, I don't know.

But I want you to pause for just a moment and consider how incredible it is that you are alive. I think that we often take life for granted. But 90 years ago, you did not exist except in the mind of God. While He knew every detail of your future, your entrance into existence would surprise pretty much everyone involved. Until that moment of recognition, the best evidence of your future was a star in the sky that Father Abraham saw generations ago.

But God knew the plans that He had for you long before Abraham's star gazing. God would call you into being and create you from absolutely nothing. You would inherit life loving, creative Creator. And it was good. He would put breath in your lungs and a give your heart a consistent rhythm. He would begin knitting you together inside your mother's belly before even she knew you were there. He would fearfully and wonderfully instill you with a will and a personality. Your sense of humor and your laugh and your ability to carry a tune and your appreciation for art and your aptitude for math and your taste in food and favorite colors would all be blended into a unique personal chemistry that is too complex for words to accurately describe.

You are alive because God made you live. And that is a miracle.

But don't take it for granted. For someday your life will end. Borrowed air will exit your lungs for the last time and number of heartbeats that God ordained will reach their potential. Your body will give out. You will die, just like everyone else.

So number your days. Each one of them is a gift. Today was given to you so that you might remember your Creator. You were made so that you might love God and to love your neighbor as you love yourself. You are here right now, alive, for a purpose.

So take a moment and thank Jesus that you are alive. Because life is precious.

And short.

Don't waste it.