Life is a Gift

Good day to each of you reading this column on a subject that hits us all in the heart.

Before I begin, I wish to pay tribute to Tony Bennett, one of the last true showmen of our time.

“Life is a gift – even with Alzheimer’s. Thank you to [his wife] Susan and my family for their support, and AARP the Magazine for telling my story,” he wrote on social media.

My wife and I had the chance to go to his concert in 2019 and witnessed a two-hour performance by the legend. Mr. Bennet and his band never missed one note even though he was suffering the Alzheimer’s disease since 2016.

We were so fortunate to listen to an American Icon and look forward to any new albums that he will be releasing. I do believe Mr. Bennett said it best that “Life is a gift” and with this marvelous gift, let us use this gift by giving more and taking less.

Each day as I awaken God has given me the breath of life and with that breath to consider how great God is. As the sun arises and the clouds fill the expanse, God has given me the sight to see his majesty.

When looking about, God reminds me of his beauty when the wind blows coolly on a hot summer day, tree leaves rustle about the ground, and each season brings about his marvelous wonders of nature.

As God speaks to me in a still and quiet voice, I listen intently for he hath given me ears to hear and eyes to see. Gazing upon the birds of the air, each bird picking his mate and working in unison to build their nest, I realize that it is God, our creator who has given each and every animal life and that only God knows when the sparrow falls to his death.

Life is a gift and time; well, time is the clock that you can never turn backwards for once it is gone, it is gone. Time and life go hand in hand with memories of what was and what might have been.

The gifts that each of us have received when we were born are to be used and never taken for granted. Each breath, every sense and feeling that we receive is given by God, our creator and with these gifts, they are given graciously and without any reservation.

When you gaze the heavens, can you count the stars? Do you smell the forest when walking there in the middle of the day? Do you hear the river water climbing over the rocks? Can you touch the wind as it bristles thru the trees in fall?

Life, as we know it, is a blade of grass that sprouts up and then begins to wither away for it was and is no longer. Are we any different? Do we look at life as a gift or do we take life for granted?

I am sure you would agree that the greatest gift of life is the death and life of our Saviour. To me, it is certainly amazing that God gave his only begotten Son, for Life is a Gift, so that sinners like you and I would die and one day would live.

Can you fathom such an enormous task as a family member? What would it be like to know that you have 33 years on this Earth and then you would die by having nails placed in your hands and feet and nailed upon a cross.

Jesus saw life as a gift, even though he had people spit upon him, hurl insults, a spear in his side, one of his own betray him, a doubting disciple, crucifixion by those he created, and religious men who said he was a man and many other names.

As we speak about the word gift, let’s turn to Merriam-Webster:

1. a notable capacity, talent, or endowment
2. something voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation
3. the act, right, or power of giving

If you look at 2 something voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation or no strings attached. FREE!!

So what greater gift could you receive than the gift of life? How can you enjoy life is you are dead? Do you think you were put on this earth to live for a certain number of years and then die. Is that all there is?

No—Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life and For God so loved the world that whomever believeth on him hath everlasting life.

Yes, life is a gift—a gift from God and a wonderful gift to be used daily—

I do hope each of you reading this will truly Thank God for each and every gift, both great and small, on a daily basis.

The magnitude of Life as a gift can never be matched but, as a Christian, we can offer our thanks, praise and glory on a daily basis.

As I close, isn’t it wonderful to know that you received the greatest gift of all—Life and, one day, when you die, that again you have life eternal. There is no better gift.

May you bless God in all that you say and all that you do.

Jeff