I have been quite reflective of my own sad state of being lately, taking stock at a time of incredible change and turmoil, of sorts. I have spent the better part of 5 months living out of suitcases and boxes and while it is heading into the close of week 3 I find that I am unable to settle in, quite as quickly as I had hoped. Nothing horrific has changed or happened, quite the contrary - everything has gone most smoothly and almost without incident. But the conflict that has me out of sorts is within me and the massive change and choices that I made to embark on this new chapter of what I know will bring others to know Christ as I grow to know Him. Continue to know Him deeper everyday.
When we go into the world with Faith to share as missionaries, and this is a calling - almost not even a choice, we face obstacles that seem insurmountable and like stone walls. Most everyone in the world has some sort of faith, even if it is in nothing at all...which is the most desolate of all faiths, because it is hollow and empty leaving one without purpose. Once a practicing agnostic and atheist and existentialist, I found myself always in conflict with, well everything. I have practiced Buddhism, Catholicism, Lutheran, a dab of Methodist and southern Baptist. I have explored Hinduism and New Ageism and all and all walked away with way too much guilt, selfishness, hollowed out belief in myself over something that is seen but unseen, heard but unheard, tasted but not tasted, breather of life and taker of life.
But within every faith or religion, the talk of choice is not a primary focus on why things occur or why that person died in 9/11 and that one didn't; why some are sent to Iraq and don't return while others return lost, angry, desolate and battered by the ravage of war. Why is it that some people appear to have great success after working hard and being goal centric and others, also working hard never seem to get their heads above water. Why is one child born deaf and another blind, while some are chosen to be destroyed before life outside the womb is ever achieved? I could list a million scenarios but the bottom line is, if you ask any two people one of these questions, you will never get the same answer. As well, I do not believe that a majority of the people out there would ever answer with a resounding "it is because of choices made in my life".
Most of us go through life blaming everything on someone, something, some event that happened in their life that acted as a catalyst leading to future events. And to a great extent that is true. However, also to be acknowledged is that every decision, every choice is going to bring about a change or cataclysmic event that will alter the course and direction of our lives, as WE MAKE THE CHOICE. For some, they play it safe and never move beyond the boundaries of what is safe and easy. Others seem to float through life making bad choices and doing bad things and getting away with it all the time without consequence. And sometimes, people are unable to choose and so their lives are always in flux or chaos, without direction. What all of these share in common are they all share similar fates or outcomes, at least in my opinion. A life without purpose serves only oneself and fails to fill the glass because the glass has no bottom.
Choice is Freedom. We have the freedom to choose good over bad; right over wrong; Faith in God versus no faith in God. Choosing to be stubborn and prideful, versus pliable and humble is a choice that more often than not, brings heartaches, anger, desolation and a myriad of other feelings or things that inevitably fail to fill us up or please our insatiable desire for the I want's or I have's. God, when he created man, gave us Free Will and the Choice to follow our Dad's leading into the safe and sound arms of His Love and Protection. Instead, because HE DID give us the ability and will to choose for ourselves, we chose and that choice has cost man so much over the millenniums. Many would argue this point and while, I respect and will and do love to hear opposing ideas or opinions, please send me a post and I will be delighted to have that open discussion. For the sake of this blog however, the question is the Freedom to Choose.
What makes one man or woman choose to be good while another chooses bad or evil? What makes one child suffer more than another? How can a good and loving God allow for bad things to happen to Good people? Well really, these questions are simply answered with one thing..We were given a choice in the garden, 2 people - the start of humankind - to heed Dad's advice or well - Not. It is really that simple. That one decision, that single CHOICE set in motion a chain of events that to this day, most of us cannot even understand or fathom.
Let me simplify. My Dad gives me a new car. He says I can drive that car anytime I want, I can enjoy it anytime I want but I am not aloud to let ANYONE else drive that car. If I allow anyone else to drive that car it will set in motion a chain of events or consequences not yet known or seen. Well, me being a stubborn and prideful child decide that Dad doesn't know best and I can make my own decisions, and go out one night and let my friend drive my car. Subsequently, my friend runs someone over, causes a head on collision and then wraps us both around a telephone poll. Now, I am lying in the hospital and paralyzed from the waist down, my friend is in a coma, the person they hit is dead and the on car collision had no survivors and had a family of 4 in the car, which included a young infant and a pregnant mother.
As I lie there in the hospital, body, mind and spirit battered and bruised, my Dad walks in and I look at him with scorn and anger and hurt. If he hadn't given me the car, let me drive it whenever instead of putting stricter rules in place, I wouldn't be here. This my friends is the logic so many people in this world use when bad things happen to good people. Let me put it this way - ever trace a conversation over the course of a couple of hours backwards? It's like that. God is our Dad, he created us for His Glory and with the Freedom to choose life over death. Every time we make a choice it WILL and DOES have a consequence that can be devastating or enriching. It is how we decided to make that choice that is the catalyst to reflect on. I chose to let my friend drive the car. I disobeyed my Dad. I chose to do what I wanted rather than think through it and heed the advice and request of my Dad who loves me and wants to look out for me. And the consequence of that choice, that split second decision came with a price tag that can never be paid.
When Jesus Chose to be the Living Sacrifice for us, He knew the consequence of that choice. He was sent specifically for that purpose, to give us redemption - Dad's prideful, stubborn and self-serving children needed something or someone to get our attention and share with us first hand knowledge of the Love of our Father for His children, His Hopes for us and to bring us a glimpse of what Faith can and will do when we choose it!
What will you choose? When do we stop blaming God and begin to reflect inward at the consequences of our sins, our actions and our choices? Everything is a choice and every choice will have a positive or negative consequence...what will you choose?
Pebble out...
What makes one man or woman choose to be good while another chooses bad or evil? What makes one child suffer more than another? How can a good and loving God allow for bad things to happen to Good people? Well really, these questions are simply answered with one thing..We were given a choice in the garden, 2 people - the start of humankind - to heed Dad's advice or well - Not. It is really that simple. That one decision, that single CHOICE set in motion a chain of events that to this day, most of us cannot even understand or fathom.
Let me simplify. My Dad gives me a new car. He says I can drive that car anytime I want, I can enjoy it anytime I want but I am not aloud to let ANYONE else drive that car. If I allow anyone else to drive that car it will set in motion a chain of events or consequences not yet known or seen. Well, me being a stubborn and prideful child decide that Dad doesn't know best and I can make my own decisions, and go out one night and let my friend drive my car. Subsequently, my friend runs someone over, causes a head on collision and then wraps us both around a telephone poll. Now, I am lying in the hospital and paralyzed from the waist down, my friend is in a coma, the person they hit is dead and the on car collision had no survivors and had a family of 4 in the car, which included a young infant and a pregnant mother.
As I lie there in the hospital, body, mind and spirit battered and bruised, my Dad walks in and I look at him with scorn and anger and hurt. If he hadn't given me the car, let me drive it whenever instead of putting stricter rules in place, I wouldn't be here. This my friends is the logic so many people in this world use when bad things happen to good people. Let me put it this way - ever trace a conversation over the course of a couple of hours backwards? It's like that. God is our Dad, he created us for His Glory and with the Freedom to choose life over death. Every time we make a choice it WILL and DOES have a consequence that can be devastating or enriching. It is how we decided to make that choice that is the catalyst to reflect on. I chose to let my friend drive the car. I disobeyed my Dad. I chose to do what I wanted rather than think through it and heed the advice and request of my Dad who loves me and wants to look out for me. And the consequence of that choice, that split second decision came with a price tag that can never be paid.
When Jesus Chose to be the Living Sacrifice for us, He knew the consequence of that choice. He was sent specifically for that purpose, to give us redemption - Dad's prideful, stubborn and self-serving children needed something or someone to get our attention and share with us first hand knowledge of the Love of our Father for His children, His Hopes for us and to bring us a glimpse of what Faith can and will do when we choose it!
What will you choose? When do we stop blaming God and begin to reflect inward at the consequences of our sins, our actions and our choices? Everything is a choice and every choice will have a positive or negative consequence...what will you choose?
Pebble out...
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