Great Questions about Life

The Promise of a Long Life
Deuteronomy 25:1-26:19

"Don't carry two sets of weights with you, one heavy and one light. Don't have two different sets of measures in your house, one large and one small. You must have true and honest weights and measures so that you will live a long time in the land the lord your God is giving you." (Deuteronomy 25:13-15)

Be honest with your judgments, and God will grant you a long life. While there are many important pieces to this Scripture, the thing that hits me right now is that this inherently emphasizes the beauty of life. If life weren't beautiful and wonderful (as two of my favorite movies suggest), then why would we want to live a long life? That promise wouldn't hold any promise. But, there is great beauty in this life that God created for us: in the world, in our brothers and sisters, in our days of learning and living and loving. And Lord, I sometimes forget how wonderful it is... this life that you grant me each day. Thank You, God! What a glorious and amazing gift You have given to me!

The Brevity of Life
Psalm 39:7-11

"...Everyone's life is only a breath." (Psalm 39:11)

There are two ways I can take this scripture. One would be: Life is short. Enjoy it. Appreciate it. The other would be: Life is short, so you better be ready for the next one. Keep your mind on the life that is to come. In this second reading, we are reminded that this life isn't all there is. This isn't the end for us, but only the beginning. It's a delicate balance of appreciating this life as a gift from God filling with blessings every morning and also remembering the blessing of an even more precious eternal life that we wait for. We do not live for this life, and for this very reason nothing can shake us, nothing can harm us. We may not be victorious in this life, but we will in the next.

The Value of a Life
Luke 6:1-25

"Then Jesus said to them, 'I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath day: to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it?'" (Luke 6:9)

Jesus reminds the Pharisees here that life is precious, more precious than their strict rules. In fact, the Sabbath was meant as a gift for people to enjoy the life that God had given them. Jesus saves a life, showing the value of that person over a law that has become life-draining instead of life-giving as it was originally meant to be. Lord, may I value the lives of all my brothers and sisters, all of my friends and family, all of Your children everywhere... with all I do and say.