So, today is the first Sunday of these writings. It is the second-to-last week of school for me, so I have a lot of work going on: papers, projects, finals to study for, you know, the usual. It isn’t helping that in the last week or so I have not been getting very good sleep. I feel kind of like I’m just going through the motions right now because I’m too exhausted to actually think. What keeps me going is my hope to keep a 4.0 GPA, and my excitement about starting my summer, in which I plan to do a ton of reading, and to start an experimental raw food phase. Both are incredibly exciting, but the time has not started yet, so I keep telling myself I need to stay focused. I have less than two weeks, and I keep praying for God to give me the focus and stamina to push through these last few days and assignments. I would feel guilty if I blew everything off and didn’t do my best: I have worked so hard all semester, it seems ridiculous to drop everything and let that effort go to waste. Of course, I know that the only reason I do so well is because God has given me a gift. There are so many things I have to be grateful for:
the opportunities for education
a family who supports me whole-heartedly in my academic pursuits, as well as being a strong Christian body of support
the financial means to attend a wonderful Christian university
the love of learning
the strong motivation to do well
the ability to focus and think critically
an open mind to think about new ideas and perspectives fairly
I could go on, but these are things that I am so incredibly thankful for right now, and the topic I want to get into is God’s plan for our lives. I have been taking a missionary biographies class this semester and it has been so inspiring to read about all these people who did such great things for God, often in the face of tragedy and discouragement. I also got pretty angry at all the opposition single women faced years ago when they wanted to go off and be missionaries: most men, and even other women, told them it was not a good idea for single women to do mission work by themselves, for whatever ridiculous reasons. However, thankfully a lot of them went anyway, and were very successful in their work. In today’s world it seems pretty obvious that men and women are equal in most things, and that our opportunities in life should not be limited based on sex. However, I still hear some people who talk about the “right place” or the “right duties” for women and men, and it bothers me. I don’t mean to say that I am against women who want to be stay-at-home moms or take care of their family, I think it’s beautiful, but I don’t think that that decision is any better than the women who want to become something else or who don’t want to get married or have children. Sex is only one part of our identity: God has programmed each individual with so many other qualities that to think sex will define the direction our lives take just boggles my mind. God has given to each individual person gifts, talents, and interests, and I believe that if we listen to that internal programming we can know what God wants us to do in life. Not everyone gets a knock on the door with their life-calling (though some people do, like Ida Scudder), but we have clues on what we are meant to do in our own hearts. Why should we fight against our talents and passions or discourage others from following theirs? If we do what we love to do, that is doing what God created us to do, and isn’t that a way to praise God? If we fight against what God programmed us to do, isn’t that the same as fighting against God or saying He made a mistake?
I’m also not trying to suggest that every whimsical desire is good: there are biblical standards we should follow (murder, adultery, stealing, homosexuality, etc). These things are not desires programmed by God, but are a result of sin, and it is by knowing God’s word that you can tell the difference. So we need to listen to ourselves, read God’s word, and pay attention to our surroundings. It’s one thing to praise God by doing what you love by yourself, but God created humans to be relational creatures (there are so many of us after all, how can we all try to live as if we each are the only one that matters?) and so He gave us talents to use in service to others. So, if we find what we love, know that it is glorifying to God, and find where that talent is needed in the world, what better thing could we do in this life? Everyone is good at something, and it doesn’t matter if you are “the best” at it because you will still be useful somewhere. No matter at what scale you are reaching people, either globally or locally, since each person is loved by God even helping one person with your talent is pleasing to Him. And that’s why it is good that we humans are all so different, that way we can share all of our God-given abilities and create a peaceful working whole (which of course isn’t how it’s working out, thank you sin) and reach everyone: the global people can reach the masses while the local people can reach those untouched by the globals. Let’s face it, not everyone has a way to hear the message of the globals (or even a desire to) so it is important for the locals to go out and be a physical presence with them and share the love and truth of Jesus Christ.
I know this is all very abstract and theoretical, and it really just feels like skimming across the surface of the idea, but that feels like enough for now. I hope I was able to get my message across.
Peace to you all!
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