Celebrating Life

Celebrating Life

Many of the great philosophers and contemporary writers have pondered on the theme of the meaning of life. I would not compare my humble thinking process with that of these learned individuals or presume to say that I have the final answer. However, from my point of view as a believer in God they often miss the point. My thought is that each life has its own meaning in the sight of God and that its purpose here on earth is life itself.

You are a child of God. Nothing and no one on earth can take this away from you because God is greater and more powerful than the sum of this Universe and any others that may exist. The difference between you as a human being and other living creations is that God gave you dominion over the earth and all other living creatures then put you in charge of your life by granting free will.

What God asks of us in recognition of His abundant love is to live our lives according to his rules. Those ten simple rules only become complex with our endless and tiresome quest to circumvent and reinvent their meaning. These ten rules can be applied to almost any law text written in the history of legalese. In truth, if the entire human population lived by these Ten Commandments, no other laws would be necessary. Our courts and our jails would be empty and each life would be fulfilled in its own time.

Free will then becomes the problem. I believe that God gave us free will because of His love for all of His creations. I think that God meant for us to use it more judiciously; that we were intended to love, to work, to help our families and our communities, to exercise responsible stewardship of all of our gifts, to respect our bodies, to give freely of our talents and most importantly to fully recognize God as our Father in Heaven. I believe that we were also meant to love and respect ourselves and our home here on earth.

It is false to believe that we are more or less than any other person. It is truth to understand that our individual gifts are different. When we presume our worth and position is less or more than that of others, the potential for wrong thinking and wrong behavior is great. An elevated sense of worth, for an extreme example, could lead us to the thought that stealing from others or even murder is a solution to some life problem. After all, of what account is the victim if we are so much more valuable and our needs are so much greater than his or hers? A poor sense of our own worth can lead to self abuse, deprecation of spirit and denial of our sanctified place in God's human family.

Since you personally are a valued member of the human race and a child of God, it is your right and your responsibility to respect and love your life. It is your right and responsibility to exercise your free will in a way that glorifies God, recognizes the worth and equal value of other human beings, elevates your spirit and utilizes the full potential of your unique gifts.

You may or may not agree with my point of view according to your own free will, but it is indisputable that any human life is precious and limited in its length. Learn to appreciate and manage your days with careful attention to the details. Open your eyes and your heart to possibilities, put your mind to the task of joyful living, work diligently for good and ask God for help. Never despair, always forgive, and try again when you fail. Celebrate your life every single day by being all that you can be.