“Life” is a beautiful Biblical subject. It is unfortunate that we often take life and the Biblical understanding of life for granted. We rarely look at the numerous life quotations in the Bible because I do not think we understand the wide range of emotional evocations.

There is everything from fear to boldness, sorrow to joy, and everything in between.

My favorite life statements include the Commandment “you shall not kill” (Exodus 20:10, cf Deuteronomy 5:17) for its simplicity, but I also have a few that are there because of their beauty and even some because of the Godly fear they instill in me.

• “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” Jeremiah 1:5a

• “Children too are a gift from the Lord, the fruit of the womb, a reward.” Psalms 127: 3

• “Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the Lord, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him.” Deuteronomy 20:19b-20a

• “Yet you drew me forth from the womb, made me safe at my mother’s breast. Upon you I was thrust from the womb; since birth you are my God.” Psalms 22:10-11

• “Jesus said, ‘Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’” Matthew 19:14

• “My very self you knew; my bones were not hidden from you; when I was being made in secret, fashioned as in the depths of the earth.” Psalms 139:15

• “With skin and flesh you clothed me, with bones and sinews knit me together.” Job 10:11

Whatever emotions motivate you, I encourage you peruse your Bible and find your favorite life statements. A great place to start is to read Genesis, Psalms, Proverbs and the Gospels. These books of the Bible have some wonderful life quotations. They also make for wonderful reads!

Again, do not be afraid to write down, shout out and share your favorite life statements from the Bible with your friends and family!