What happened to the value of life?
Genesis 1:26-31 (NIV)
26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." 29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground--everything that has the breath of life in it--I give every green plant for food." And it was so. 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day.
Preposition: Life is the most valuable thing we have been given. Take time to enjoy it and appreciate life
What are we talking about?
1. This week 30 Kids murdered in Virginia tech.
o Explore the concept.
* Lives taken
* had a future ahead of them
o Lives ruined.
* trauma to the families
* trauma to his parents
o Could have been, Doctors lawyers,
* Mothers fathers no more
o cure for aids could have been in them or their children
o What about the pain and grief the families go through
2. What comes to mind is how valuable and special life really is
o we may take it for granted
Run the story
Genesis 1:26-31 (NIV)
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day.
3. The intension God had was life to be good
o He saw it as good
o He said it was good
o From the very beginning
How can this tragedy occur? Many look for answers. I don’t have them. But I see a problem. Lack of the value of life.
4. Many try to devalue life
o Many killing in the movie and television shows
Window: Abortion
Window: The shield. Kills his friend so he kills him. But doesn’t that life have value? Just a thought
5. Do we take this life for granted
o Many don’t take time to see the valuable things we have in life
o Our families
* My wife is so valuable to me
Things we take for granted about life
6. My wife’s company
o Wake up and she is there
o Can share good times with
o When I am sick she is their
o She understands me
o Can share my dreams with her
o If she were gone I would be missing a very valuable thing
o This cell phone picture I treasure.
Do we take this for granted?
7. Our children
o They joy to see them grow
o The pleasures they brings
Story: Lexie sneezing on me when a child…then driving up to the house…that was valuable
Story: Bobby wanting s ride home and seeing her go pick up her brother. Was valuable to me.
Story: Seeing Bobby afraid of a computer video where something will pop out was just like me…that’s valuable to me.
8. Sometimes we miss this
o Don’t show it
o Get to busy to share it
* Work etc
9. Life is to short to miss it
10. Sometimes we let life pass us by and we don’t truly live
Living or Just Existing
Famed economist Stuart Chase once sat down to figure how many hours in the week had he truly and intensively lived? In how many had he just existed? Out of the 168 hours of the week, he found that he had been "alive" only 40, or about 25 percent of the time.
Too often this happens
11. Are we unappreciative?
He’d Rather Appreciate Things Cannot Have
A certain Elbert Hubbard derived much pleasure from visiting the great art galleries. One day he was admiring a priceless painting in a New York gallery when a friend chidingly remarked,
"Elbert, why do you allow yourself to become so enthused over things you can never afford to own?"
"Harry," replied the sage of East Aurora, "I would rather be able to appreciate things I cannot have, than to have things I am not able to appreciate."
12. God values us
Luke 12:24 (NIV)
24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!
Acts 17:25 (NIV)
because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.
