Have reverence for life and all the Beings who share the Universe with you. Have reverence for yourself, for you too are part of the Overall Grand Design.

What does it mean to have reverence for life? It means to know that life is a wonderful gift. There is nothing like it on Earth. The gift of life is yours for such a short time. It is a gift that you take for granted. That's how children mostly are when their parents give them a gift, for the child is aware that that is what parents are supposed to do. The child is quite right, and yet nothing is to be taken for granted. Each breath you take is a gift, and gifts, no matter how fully given, do not last forever. Even diamonds are not forever. Material gifts do not last forever. Life on Earth in a body is also a material gift, beloveds.

I am like any other parent who wants his child to value all he or she has. I am not talking about a child's polite thank you. It is fine with Me that My children take what I give for granted. Go ahead, yet know what a gift you have been given. Know all the thought and caring that went into the choosing of it. Know that it was picked out with you in mind. Consider what went into making the gift. Consider what it meant to the One Who gave it to you.

You have been given an irreplaceable gift of life. And all those who have been granted life are also gifts to you. It could not be otherwise. Recognizing the gift of life you have been given is also recognizing the gift that others are. Life is a gift, and one life is not more of a gift than another. Each life is unique and precious and must be regarded so.

If you could really know the magnificence of life, you would bow down in joy to each person you meet. You would be so happy to share the Universe and to be alive at this time with all the others who are alive. Your gratitude would know no bounds. You would love each bird, leaf, and stone. Beloveds, you would love. Nothing else but love would exist. Love itself carries a great component of gratitude. Perhaps love is gratitude, gratitude lighted up, gratitude on all four burners.

Can there be love without gratitude? In any case, with love and gratitude, there is a realization of value. Oh, beloveds, the value of valuing! It is invaluable.

What is anything unless it is valued? What is anything worth unless you do know its value? What are diamonds worth when you think they are glass? Even when you know diamonds are diamonds, what are they worth to you when their worth becomes worthless to you? It is a good idea to know the value of what you have.

Christ could appear before you. Unless you recognized the value of the one before you, how much value would you gain? And what, if anything, would you give? It is not that you must pay a price. It is that you have to recognize the value of what and whom appears before you. If you wish to have and give joy in life, it is necessary to recognize what is before you in all its glory.

In everyone you meet, I am before you. Will you begin to recognize Me and the value I have placed on all life, not only in Heaven, but also in the world?

Will you begin to simply love?