Grateful. One word, Lord, “grateful.” We are grateful for the gift of life, however long it may last. We are grateful for each breath and moment. We are grateful to the One who makes all things possible, who makes all things new, and who washes away all of the mistakes that we make in this life. We are grateful for grace, a gift from God, just like the gift of life that we never asked for or deserved. It is simply given to us. For as You said to Moses, that “You, Lord, will have mercy on whom You have mercy, and You will have compassion on whom You have compassion.’ It does not depend on our desire or effort, but rather on God’s mercy alone. So let’s celebrate in that truth instead of competing against each other for who got to God first, we should all be grateful that God first got to all of us through His Son, Jesus, as the ultimate testament of sacrificial love. We don’t need to be the judge or gatekeeper because we also stand in the same line with other sinners. And when we do meet You, at the end of this life, would we want Your mercy or Your judgment? The answer to that question is revealed in how we treat others in this life. Let’s come together as brothers and sisters for we are all sinful and have fallen short of the glory of God. And yet, we are also all forgiven and released from the shackles of sin and death because of the miracle that is Jesus Christ. However hard this life may be or whatever burden tries to pull us down, the Word of God releases us from the limitations of this reality on to His possibilities.