What Makes Life Worth Living?

I've known some miserable people in my life.  Perhaps you have, too.  

Whether they were miserable because their lives didn't turn out as they hoped, or they were sad, lonely, or angry, they all seemed to have one thing in common: there was something within them that kept them going.  

Despite all of the feelings of misery or despair, most clung to the hope that tomorrow might bring someting better, even though everything within them was telling them it wouldn't. 

I have been there, so I understand it.  I know what it's like to feel as though there's no way out of the darkness, and still long and hope for some light.  

I also know what it's like to feel my own time on earth passing by in what seems like a breath. There have been seasons that have felt interminable, moving in slow motion, and then afterward I am left wondering, "Where did the time go?"

And for me, all of this begs the question, "What makes life worth living?" What moves us from mere existence to living fully alive?  

I recently came a cross a quote from Japanese author Mahoutsukai no Yoru that resonated with me: 

“Everyone had a choice. To lament the little time they had left, or to gamble on it. Perhaps we find things beautiful because they don’t last. Someday, this would all end…but not just yet." 

The quote reminds us that we can either despair over the ticking clock or embrace the gamble of living fully. “Someday, this would all end…but not just yet.” That “not just yet” is God’s gift. 

Every moment is an invitation to live, to risk love, to offer kindness, to savor beauty. We are not called to preserve life in amber, but to live it as it is—precious because it does not last.

Life’s fragility is what makes it radiant. A sunset’s glory only lasts for moments, and precisely because it fades, we stop and marvel at it. A child’s laughter is fleeting, and because it passes, we treasure it. 

Scripture affirms this rhythm: “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). It is the brevity of life that awakens us to its worth.

The apostle Paul described this impermanence in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18: 

“Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day…For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 

In a previous letter to that same group of people, Paul declares that the passing of time presses us closer to what endures: faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Life's impermanence in this world makes love urgent, gratitude essential, and hope powerful. To lament what will fade is to miss the beauty of now; to gamble on it and truly live is to discover life’s worth in the very act of living.

And perhaps most of all, life is worth living because each fleeting moment is stitched with Divine presence.  There are miracles all around us if we are willing to open our eyes to see them.  

So, let go of fear, take hold of wonder, and find what is beautiful for you—what makes your heart beat faster, what stirs your soul with gratitude. Hold onto it, not to possess it forever, but to treasure it deeply while it lasts.

Prayer

Eternal God, thank You for the gift of impermanent days that awaken us to Your eternal love. Teach us to live fully, to see beauty in the fleeting, and to embrace the gamble of life with courage and joy. Amen.

Reflection Questions

1. What fleeting moments in your life have reminded you most of its beauty?

2. How does recognizing the impermanence of things change the way you value them?

3. What is one “gamble of life” you feel called to take right now, trusting God with the outcome?