SEPTEMBER 5, 2026

 “God created us for this: to live our lives in a way that makes him look more like the greatness and the beauty and the infinite worth that he really is. This is what it means to be created in the image of God.” 

― John Piper

PROVERBS 7-8

32“Now then, my children, listen to me;

blessed are those who keep my ways.

33Listen to my instruction and be wise;

do not disregard it.

34Blessed are those who listen to me,

watching daily at my doors,

waiting at my doorway.

35For those who find me find life

and receive favor from the Lord.

36But those who fail to find me harm themselves;

all who hate me love death.” (8:32-36)

1 CORINTHIANS 14:21-40

 24But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, 25as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”

JOURNAL 

This life is incredibly short. Whether I live ten more years or fifty, my time here is only a moment in the enormous span of eternity. I have always hated endings, whether it is the end of a vacation, a season, a relationship, or ultimately a life. But endings are woven into existence. Seasons end so new ones can begin, and eventually my time here will end too. I don't say that morbidly. Increasingly, I see it as a call to wake up. I don't want to waste a single minute of the life I have been given.

But I am beginning to understand that not wasting my life does not mean frantically accomplishing more. In fact, that could become another way of wasting it. If God is love, and love is the highest purpose of my life, then the question is how fully I can inhabit the time God gives me and use it to love, grow, create, serve, and help others grow. John Piper's words resonate with me because perhaps that is what being made in God's image ultimately means: living in such a way that my particular life points beyond itself toward the goodness, beauty, power, and love of the One who gave it to me.

That changes my understanding of faith. Faith is not a way to manipulate God into making my life easier. It is relationship with the Creator so that I can become fully alive during the brief time I am here. Proverbs says, “Those who find me find life.” Jesus says not to spend today consumed with tomorrow, but to seek God's Kingdom first. Paul describes a community living in such a way that someone encountering them would say, “God is really among you!” Maybe that is what I want my life to say too. Not because I preached it constantly, but because something about the way I loved, taught, coached, led, created, forgave, encouraged, and lived made God's presence visible.

I have wasted too much time imagining some future version of life where everything is finally right. More money. More success. Fewer problems. Greater certainty. But there will always be another problem, another uncertainty, another ending somewhere ahead. Meanwhile, this is my life. Today is not preparation for my life. Today is my life. The people in front of me are the people I have been given to love. The problems in front of me are opportunities to grow. The gifts I possess are the gifts I have been given to use. This moment is the only place where I can actually meet God.

And I am grateful because my life is not over. I still have today. I can love my family. I can love Marci. I can teach a child, coach a player, encourage someone who is struggling, create something meaningful, solve a problem, forgive someone, make a phone call, listen, laugh, pray, notice beauty, and simply be present. None of those moments are insignificant if they are lived in love.

Maybe “seek first His Kingdom” is ultimately an invitation to stop postponing life. Stop waiting for circumstances to become perfect. Stop allowing fear of tomorrow or regret over yesterday to steal today. Choose God. Own the gifts He gave me. Live the mission. Love the people in front of me. And be completely present for this extraordinary, temporary gift of being alive.

Someday my last day will come. Until then, I don't want to waste my life worrying about when it will end. I want to use every day I am given becoming more capable of love and giving that love away. If I can do that, then however long or short my time here ultimately proves to be, I will have truly lived it.

31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

MATTHEW 6:31-34