Moving through different stages of life, understanding why we are where we are, and taking the step into a bright future involves risk, fear, uncertainty, and stress. I am not sure if I am any better at it or worse than anyone else. I do wish I understood the path, why I am where I am, and where I should and tend to be going.
The questions that surround the core of my life are ones that I have no answers to. It is almost as if my dialogue with God goes like this; “‘Why did you shape me like this?’ [God responds,] Isn’t it obvious that a potter has perfect right to shape one lump of clay into a vase for holding flowers and another into a pot for cooking beans?” (Romans 9.20)
Is this really the answer? Am I in the various good and bad situations merely at God’s whim? What right does He have to do this? What happened to my freedom of choice? What if I want something different? These are questions that every adult wonders about and only 14-year-olds can come up with the courage to voice!
As I asked these questions and demanded answers the quiet response is always the same. “You are my son, a son of forgiveness, of joy, and of riches. I love you. I want you. I need you.”
As I echo the words back the words, they make sense. ‘I am a child of forgiveness, of joy, and of riches’. Any and every mistake that I make is already forgiven. I have an all-powerful God who likes me, no more than that loves me regardless of what I do. The love God has for me is so strong that He gave up his Son so I can be with Him. This is a gift of ultimate riches!
As the words clear the question remains, why am I here? The answer is one of faith. God is working to bring me home. Along the way He is trying to enlist me in helping others. Oh, cool!
