As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. "Teacher," his disciples asked him, "why was this man born blind? Was it a result of his own sins or those of his parents?" "It was not because of his sins or his parents' sins," Jesus answered. "He was born blind so the power of God could be seen in him. All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me, because there is little time left before the night falls and all work comes to an end. (John 9:1-3 NLT).

In a 24 hour period, if you’re an adult of average weight, here is what you accomplish:

• Your heart beats 103,689 times
• Your blood travels 168,000,000 miles
• You breathe 23,040 times
• You inhale 438 cubic feet of air.
• You eat 3.25 pounds of food
• You drink 2.9 quarts of liquids
• You lose 7/8 pound of waste.
• You speak 4,800 words, including some unnecessary ones
• You move 750 muscles
• Your nails grow .000046 inch
• Your hair grows .01714 inch
• You exercise 7,000,000 brain cells.

Feel tired? There is actually so much more to living in one day than just these things! The only non-renewable resource any of us have is time. In our reading this morning Jesus encourages us to work while we can since there will be a day when we will run out of time.

There are a few occasions when I have been reminded of this very vividly. Recently I had a very angry customer. He was upset because there was a problem with his vehicle. He was so upset that he was actually shouting obscenities in the middle of our showroom. I waited for him to take a breath and merely asked, “Which side of the dirt are you on?” He was speechless, which was the desired effect I intended. He then stammered, “Dirt? What are you talking about?” I then explained that I would gladly take care of his problem, but it after all is just a car. It is a hunk of metal, wires and rubber. It is not the end of the world! Then I answered his question about the dirt. God had given him another day. He woke up on “this side of the dirt.” He was alive with a precious resource. How foolish to waste even one minute of it in such frustration and anger.

My mantra has remained the same: Never let outward circumstances determine inward joy. Perhaps you should adopt the same attitude. You have been given another day. You have been given another opportunity to see and experience the wonder of God’s grace in your life. You have been given another chance to bring that grace into someone else’s life. You are on this side of the dirt! Don’t waste a minute of it in negative pursuits!