One cannot travel through India and not face the compassion question at least one time. Was it luck or fate when I was not born into the situation I see all around me? Am I predestined to follow a specific path that will end me at a set destination, or is there a range of choices available to me at different points along the road? Do we carry a given burden for our fellow travelers? What are my duties, response, and gift to the people who face struggles far greater than I can imagine.
In a light hearted way the questions all point down to skill or luck. Luck and fate can be two ways of describing the same path that centers on our inability to control or influence the destination. Is there skill involved in living?
I gently suggest, in all fear and mystery, that the beginnings of life are a gift from God. Yes, I know there was a biological act and process. However, I suggest that the essence of life was, and is, a gift from a creator God back to specific human situations. I do not understand why I am part of the family or situation that I found myself in; that is a mystery I am looking to understand.
God gives life for each to live and make something of it; that is where skill comes in. “Skilled living gets its start in the Fear-of-God, insight into life from knowing a Holy God.” (Proverbs 9.10) Focus in on God and your relationship with him and everything comes into focus and place.
The challenge is accepting the mantle of living and doing something with your life. We have opportunities to grow personally and give things away to those around us. The most precious gift we can give is exactly what God gives us – peace, unconditional acceptance, mercy without end, compassionate understanding, and a helping hand.
Life is for living, not accepting. Life is about giving, not receiving. There is a link between life and God, from beginning to end.
