Had you been there eavesdropping while Jesus was having a conversation with his Father, you might have heard this snippet from Jesus: "I brought you glory on earth by completing this work you gave me to do."

Completion of Purpose = The Meaning of Life

"The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet their strength . . . is soon cut off, and we fly away." -- Ps 90:10

She also knew that researchers from MIT have found an enzyme that extends the life span of yeast. When activated, this enzyme causes age-related chromosomes to be silenced, causing an extension the life in yeast. Didn't know yeast had life?

Neither did I.

This research carries broad implications for the human (and the dog) aging process, since this same enzyme has been discovered in the rest of us. However spectacular these things may appear, they are in the learned hands of science.

Scripture teaches that the days we spend here on earth are numbered by God. Some note that this is why Stonewall Jackson, of Civil War fame, was so brave. He was impervious to the mini-balls, cannon balls and grapeshot that flew about him, because he believed he could not die until God said it was ok.

Jackson died at age 37 by accidental gunfire from his own troops. His last words were, "Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees." Regardless of general Jackson's bravery, or his theology, there is a divine rationale, there is a reason and purpose behind our days on earth, however long or short they may be.

Jesus lived into His early thirties. He died a young man, his life truncated by execution. Yet in the time he had on this earth, he brought glory and honor to God, his Father.

More than any human who has ever lived, his life had meaning. From the manger in Bethlehem, to the cross at Golgotha, the life and death of Jesus Christ resonated with the purpose of God. He completed the work his Father had given him to do.

Today, his life has impacted more than 2 billion people; people who are now alive and call themselves "Christians," not to speak of those who have gone before and live no more.

Like Jesus, and no less than he, each of us has a task, a purpose, a reason, or perhaps several reasons, that warrant our existence on earth. The Psalmist gives us threescore years and ten (more or less) to get this thing done.

Many do not realize their life on earth has such rationale. Some even think that it's cool not to have a rationale, a purpose, a focus, a dream. It is not cool to think that way. In such cases, the purpose of one's life may never be appreciated or enjoyed.

"Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out." -- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., U.S. Supreme Court Judge

"Paul," says Daisy to me, "Don't spend your life getting ready to live."

The rationale behind one's life can be broken down to smaller pieces; into days, hours and minutes.

"Learn from the past, set vivid, detailed goals for the future, and live in the only moment of time over which you have any control: NOW." -- Denis Waitley

Daisy was quite emphatic, "Each instant," says she, "has as much rationale as the whole. In fact, the whole cannot happen if the instant did not exist. Don't waste your time, don't waste your life with non-redemptive stuff. Even moments of relaxation and fun can have divine purpose. Perhaps especially so. Find out why you are alive and then pursue it with every breath, with every beat of your heart. Every thought. Every dream. Nothing can be more liberating. More satisfying."

Took a few minutes for Daisy to get all this off her chest, and when she finished, she got off mine. She gave me one last look, just to make sure I got it, crawled up on the pillow and went to sleep.

So did I.