Life is more about preparation than performance. Some performances last only in a matter of seconds but preparations could take years. Think of an Olympian who runs the 100-meter race in less than a minute. In order to dash that fast, a sprinter must train his whole life. Or think of Manny Pacquiao whose fights last less than an hour but demands thousands of hours of preparation.

The video below presents this message clearly and succinctly.

The mechanical bird’s excellent yet short performance is the result of a long process of vocalization, makeup, and rehearsal. A responsibility as simple as announcing the hours already requires in itself regular preparation, how much more the life that we want to live. The symbolism is clear.

Think of everything you went through life – education, relationships, journeys, work. Aren’t these the things that prepared you for what you are going to do today? Aren’t these the things that prepared you to become who you are now?

Preparation is more important than performance. To be who we are capable of becoming is worth all the long and slow preparation that all of us have to go through. ABCs in grade school, Trigonometry in high school, breaking up with a girlfriend in college – these kinds of experiences may seem unconnected and unimportant but, looking back, I can say that all those small and big events in my life are neither unconnected nor unimportant. They form a long chain of events that led me to where I am now and define the person I have become.

We Christians believe in the afterlife. We believe that at the end of this life we either go to heaven or hell eventually. Life on earth is ephemeral while the next is eternal. What is 80 or 100 years on earth compared to eternity in heaven or hell? We believe that life on earth is but a preparation for the next life.

The question then is: how can we make sure that we’ll spend eternity in heaven? The best way to get a ticket to heaven is to live a “heavenly” life on earth. To live a heavenly life is to live in accordance with God’s will. It is to love and forgive others the way the Father loves and forgives us. It is to treat others the way Jesus treats us. Train yourself to be more loving, forgiving and Jesus-like each day. This is the only way you can prepare yourself for a life of eternal bliss.