“Don’t leave it to chance. It’s a choice.”

A thought by Mark Batterson, Richard Foth, and Susanna Foth Aughtmon (2015-04-28) from their book, A Trip around the Sun: Turning Your Everyday Life into the Adventure ofa Lifetime (p. 188). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Mark continues, “Epitaphs are a powerful thing. What is said about us when we die is a window into how we lived our lives. Epitaphs reveal the innate desire each of us has within us to leave an impact on the world. Even after we have left this earth, we want to leave something of ourselves behind. We want to be remembered for something.”

So many people leave life and death to chance. For one they have left the fact that there is a God who has made them and who has a purpose for their life to chance. They have not acknowledge there need for Him. They have just lived their life as if they didn’t need any help from their Creator. No that is taking a chance. And then death. That is taking a real chance.

Mark shares, “Most people celebrate one birthday, but I get to celebrate two. November 5 is my first birthday, but my second birthday is July 23. That is the day I got my second chance at living after spending two days on a respirator, hanging on to life. To be honest, my second birthday is even more meaningful to me than my first birthday. At this writing, I’m fourteen years old. And that’s how I feel. Whenever I hit a tough spot, I just go back to July 23 and think, I’ve been worse than I am now, and I’ve gone through tougher times. This may be bad, but I’m still breathing. When you come face-to-face with death, you are bound and determined to truly live. In fact, I’d love to live to a hundred. I’m probably the least likely candidate given my medical history. But no matter how long I live, I’m going to squeeze as much adventure out of every day as I possibly can.”

God is the one who truly makes life worth living. But serving him is a choice. We can live our life by chance or by choice.

Which will it be for you from this point forward?

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