One of the great privileges, the highpoints on my ministry has been the pleasure of encounters with those when they first encounter the Lord. When they respond to His gracious invitation and He lifts the burdens of failure. When the reality of judgment for their rebellion is not lost but they realize that it was taken on by Another, by the Lord who came to seek and save that which is separated from God.
This privilege is not exclusive to ministry; rather it is the desire of God for all who follow Him…that the lost be saved when His people rehearse the gospel time and time again. As much as I love to share Jesus’ story and love seeing people respond to it, at times the passion wanes. Maybe it is that family member or co-worker who has heard the story a hundred times; or, maybe it is that terribly inconvenient circumstance where sharing the gospel is costly.
There are times when I have to repent before the Lord and seek His help to stir up the passion. A passion that is exhibited by the Apostle Paul.
1I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, 2that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. 3For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, 4who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, 5whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.
Romans 9:1-5, NASB95
Paul’s passion was for the Israelites to be saved. Remember now, Paul is the Apostle to the Gentiles. Christ set him apart primarily to the nations. [As an aside, I still smile a bit when I remember that Paul had stellar credentials in Judaism and God sent him to the Gentiles, while Peter had limited training in Judaism and God sent him to focus primarily on Jacob’s descendants. I digress.]
Notice Paul’s heart, particularly in verse three where he calls the Holy Spirit to bear witness to the truthfulness of his statement: He would wish himself accursed (i.e. to give up his salvation) if that somehow would lead to the salvation of the Jews. Let that sink in for a moment and reflect on it. Have you ever loved someone so much that you’d wish your life for theirs? Perhaps a family member. Maybe a confidante or a good man. But Paul states this about a people group…the Jewish people…those whose leaders not only rejected Jesus but sought to destroy His followers.
Perhaps, you, like me, need to ask the Lord in faith today to strengthen your passion for your people, your neighbors, and your nation in the same way. Make this the year when you build a bridge left and right of your home and across the street… a bridge for the gospel…whatever the cost.
Someone once said that the key to organizational thriving is to get the Vision “off the wall and down the hall.” This is simply a recognition that there is a difference, at times, between the aspirational and the practical. I was asked recently what kind of team culture I considered conducive to thriving. My response was, in part, to lay out the Five Pillars of Team Culture that I feel are essential: Contagiously Positive, Exceedingly Helpful, Personally Responsible, Relentlessly Improving, and Laser-Focused. The team will thrive if these five characteristics are present in a Team and its members.
Here is the greater question: “Do I really want that?” Some days, if I am honest, I don’t want to be positive. Some days I want to sit alone and whine to myself (and maybe the Lord) …rehearsing every unjust thing that has ever happened. Some days I don’t want to be relentlessly improving. Innovation and reinvention are hard work! Comfortable is more attractive some days. Even if I “say” that I want these characteristics to be true, in my heart… I know that it is not true. So, what does one “do” when you don’t want what you want to want?
That’s the question I took to prayer this morning as I read Psalm 128 and prayed it back to the Lord.
1How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways. 2When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, you will be happy and it will be well with you. 3Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine Within your house, Your children like olive plants Around your table. 4Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed Who fears the Lord. 5The Lord bless you from Zion, and may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. 6Indeed, may you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!
Psalm 128:1-6, NASB95
Such huge categorical statements of unequivocal truth here. The people who fear the Lord and walk in His ways shall be blessed! The word blessed is the Hebrew, as re, and it means to be fortunate or happy. Our happiness is based on the fact that things will go well with you (v.2), your wife and your children will be blessed and fruitful (v.3), and for many generations (v.6). God will be present in your midst and will bless you and your people, His people, with Peace. This is a HUGE promise! There is no downside at all. So, why do I still resist walking in His ways in fear (Hebrew- ya re, meaning to be afraid, to honor, to reverence, to be in awe)? The answer comes down to trust, I think, and has been the issue since the first couple in the Garden (Gen 3).
So, my prayer this morning is for the Lord to help me to more fully want what I want to want, even when I don’t want it. Perhaps that is your cry before him as well. Grace and Peace.
Have you ever watched a child open a stack of gifts? Seeing their eyes dance and minds race over the latest new thing in their hands? Grace upon grace…and as such…all of it undeserved. At times though, even amid such undeserved blessing, there can be a shift of attention to something that did not occur. “Thanks for the sweater Grandma…I like blue, but I really wanted green.” Some will raise an eyebrow at the apparent ingratitude of the child. And that’s true, of course. But if we dig at the source of the attitude, we find an all-too-common problem…the problem of comparison.
This is true, even if more subtle, at all stages of life. “Thank God I heard the gospel, but I wish I had heard it sooner.” Or, “God has blessed me but Johnny is truly getting a double portion!” We can get trapped in comparing what we have by grace with what someone else has by the same grace.
Jesus taught on this in one of my favorite parables in Matthew 20. Day workers received their wages at the end of the day, and everyone got precisely what was promised. There was jealousy however because some worked longer for the same wages. The story’s point was not a need for wage equity but that the employer had absolute freedom to hire who he wanted and to pay what he wished. The employees were not entitled to a job in the first place; how can they now claim injustice because the employer showed different grace toward others?
What we deserve based on our rebellion against God is to be cast eternally from His presence, banished from His Kingdom, and the wrath of judgment against us for one single act of rebellion against Him. (Romans 6:23). What we receive as believers…is forgiveness. We are drawn near, welcomed into the Kingdom, and our due judgment was taken on by the King Himself.
10For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
Romans 5:10-11, NASB95
We deserved banishment and received a welcome. We deserved death and received life. We deserved an ending but inherited a new beginning. Real joy emanates from right perspective. Let’s turn our eyes heavenward and see the high cost of our salvation (What we do not deserve) and the wrath (what we do deserve) that the Son of God endured in our place. Then, we will have the right perspective, and only then can we truly exult in the God who saves.
In 1991, I received my first of many leadership assignments: I was to lead a team as a Military Police Investigator. I was pending promotion to a junior non-commissioned officer and now had responsibility for a half dozen or so investigators. I had arrived! Or had I just begun?
That question is the subject of Paul’s discourse over the coming verses.
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
Romans 5:1-2 (NASB95)
The reality of the Christian life is this: The day of our Salvation is the starter’s pistol, not the finish line. Notice in these first two verses:
Having been justified… This is a passive action from our perspective. We do not justify ourselves. We experience justification. This is because we are not the Judge. We were under judgment. It is the Judge who declares justification. Justification carries with it more weightiness than simple forgiveness. It is forgiveness, but it is more. Justification communicates a right standing before God. It is not a commuted sentence. It is not mere clemency. It is a pronouncement of righteousness in the present without qualification of the past actions. Forgiveness focuses on a response to our bad actions. Justification speaks of our present. We ARE saints. Why? Because God declared it.
Now He did so, based on Christ’s substitutionary atonement, His propitiatory sacrifice on our behalf. God forgave our sin and our sin is to God, as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). But the emphasis of justification does not merely look back on what God did. It focuses on our present status which is reality. “Having been justified…”
We have peace. That is a present-tense idea. We are not looking back on when we once had peace. We are not focused on when we all get to Heaven and rejoice over the peace we will have. We RIGHT NOW have peace with God.
All of this through Christ, and, as such, through Him, we also have our introduction by faith into this new grace (a new and unearned reality). A new beginning. A new status. A new reality of peace with God.
All of this matters. But our hope and the glory that is spoken of as the outworking of our introduction by grace is only realized when we KNOW it and ACT consistently.
Choose not to live as a prisoner of the past. If Christ has set you free, then you are free indeed (Galatians 5:1). You do not have an asterisk by your name. You are not a saint on probation or with a checkered past. You are a saint. You have peace with God. You are justified.
Of course, this is not everyone and it is not automatic. You must believe it. That is, you must know it, accept it as true by faith, and live it out as if it were true. If I can help you with this, or help you understand it better, please contact me through the link on my homepage at chrisaikenonline.com.
20yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, 21and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. 22Therefore it was also credited to him as righteousness.
Romans 4:20-22, NASB95
Isn’t It interesting…the details of God’s record books? In Romans 4, from which the passage above is selected, we find the story of Abraham…a man who “did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith. “ Can you imagine that press conference today?
Reporter: Excuse me, but are you claiming that Abraham did not waver? And, if so, how would you address his alleged conduct in Egypt in not only lying about his wife Sarai but in compelling her to do so as well? Furthermore, how would you address his alleged actions in Gerar when he, according to testimony, stated…and I quote: “She is my sister.” (Genesis 20:2). It is further alleged that he profited from this testimony which resulted in the imprisonment for one long night in king Abimelech’s home. How can you explain such a broad statement that he “did not waver in unbelief?”
God’s Press Secretary: Thank you for your question. First of all, these are not only allegations. They did, in fact, occur just as reported. No context is missing. Abraham, also known previously as Abram acted in fear and self-interest, bearing false witness against his wife Sarah, formerly known as Sarai. As a result, he profited. These failures are absolutely accurate. They are unequivocally sinful and deserving of banishment from the presence of God. The sins are true. The rules and laws are just and God has not amended them or exempted Abraham from participation. Rather, God substituted His only Son at the sentencing of Abraham, and He, Jesus, died in Abraham’s place. Furthermore, the payment for the sins of Abraham was so sufficient that his sins no longer merit mentioning. They were fully adjudicated by the maximum penalty.
That’s true for Abraham and it is true for you and me. No matter what you have done and to whom you have done it, there is no more significantly aggrieved party than God Himself. His response was not to ignore the sin or suspend the sentence. Instead, He settled the account and called you and me to walk in the new freedom of total forgiveness and restoration. Period. Full Stop. Next Paragraph.
God credited Abraham with righteousness based on a sacrifice that would be physically carried out thousands of years later…but Abraham believed God and THAT was credited to Him as Righteousness.
This is a fresh start. Choose. You can try to justify yourself, seek to have the standard overturned, or turn yourself over to the mercy of the Court of Heaven. There you will find freedom.
If you have never experienced this forgiveness which I have written about and which God promised and of which Abram accepted, I would love to discuss it further with you. Your fresh start is a conversation away and made possible by the gracious gift of God Himself. You can contact me at the link on my homepage at chrisaikenonline.com.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 (NASB95)
As we look forward to the potential and opportunities that await us in 2024, we may ask: What is the basis of my hope? Do I have hopes for a great year based on the benevolence of mankind? Is my strong tower grounded in my self-determination? Shall I stake my claim on the outcome of political enterprises or promises made by my neighbor?
Of course, we can base our hope on any of these things. It is quite common to do so in many facets of our culture. However, are these foundational elements of faith worthy of our lives?
Some outsiders may look at our spiritual moorings as some iteration of blind faith. They may assert that God calls us to simply trust Him. While it is true that we are called to trust God, He has always made the case before us that He is trustworthy. Before calling Adam and Eve to walk before Him…God created them, their habitat, provided for their every need, and articulated their purpose.
John the baptizer’s statement to Jesus’ first disciples (to be) is based on a past promise:
35Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples,
36and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
37The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
John 1:35–37 (NASB95)
Notice that the weightiness of the claim that Jesus is “the Lamb of God” rests on a foundational knowledge that resonated with the two disciples. All Hebrew history looked forward to a promised Messiah. All the Hebrew experience carried with it evidence of God’s provision. Now, by faith, these two disciples walk forward and follow Jesus. If you remove the prophesies or eliminate the experiences of this people group over thousands of years…Jesus is potentially just another religious teacher. But with the promises and with the experiences, He becomes the object of their faith.
As you consider your steps, your goals, your ambitions, your pursuits in the coming year…are they undertaken by faith? Sure, you can undertake anything you wish; but, if you move forward with faith, you are destined to achieve. Has God directed your steps? Has He proven Himself trustworthy in your life thus far? If so, then walk in the ASSURANCE of that which you hope for, even though you do not yet see the evidence of its fulfillment. That’s faith! That’s powerful! That’s the only way to please God today and in the days ahead. (See Hebrews 11:6).
I am walking through the Book of Romans presently in my time alone with the Lord. (Yes, I see the irony of my time alone with Him being shared with others.) A verse and a few thoughts gripped me today and I hoped they may be of value to you as you consider the New Year and all of the new initiatives that clamor for your attention.
Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?
Romans 2:4 (NASB95)
Having argued boldly in Chapter 1 that many had dismissed General Revelation and thus denied the Sovereign Deity of God (as evidenced in their haughty rebellion against godly wisdom, natural law, and God’s commands), Paul now turns the table to his audience…who really were the focus of his consideration all along.
Notice v.1… “Therefore, YOU have no excuse…” (emphasis added). Wait, weren’t we talking about homosexuals, gossips, slanderers, and idolaters? Yes. And if God would judge them for their rebellion against Him…how can we claim any reprieve in our rebellion against Him having a fullness of knowledge through His special revelation in Christ and in His Word?
Some may say (as is His point), but He has allowed the wicked to persist…even to apparently prosper! Why has God not dealt with their sin boldly and decisively? Why has He not zapped them with lightning bolts from heaven? Why has He not unleashed the apocalyptic judgments of Revelation for His namesake? After all…we would! Against all of God -deniers! THOSE terrible sinners. Yet God chose a different approach!
God chose a course what we DESPISE! That’s what it means to “think lightly” in verse four. The question: “Do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience?”
God chooses:
Kindness- (Greek- chrestotes) Upright, benevolent, gentle, generosity. God chose magnanimous gentleness in dealing with rebels of all kinds.
Tolerance- (Greek- anoche) Forbearance, clemency, relief, pause, patience. God chose abundant patience with the sinfulness of rebels of every type.
Patience- (Greek- makrothymias) steadfast endurance. While anoche focuses on the extended patience of God, this word emphasizes the patient suffering of God. God chose to endure and endure and endure the rebellion of others of every background and experience.
But why? Because God sees the “long game,” and desires repentance over judgment. If He wanted to judge as a priority, He would and could. Do we remember the flood of Noah, the fishiness of Jonah’s prison, and the immediate deaths of Ananias and Saphira for daring to lie to the Holy Spirit? Yet, God chooses forbearance, knowing that it leads to repentance for YOU. Rather than judge the rebels, God willingly judged His Son in their place so that He might extend His patient endurance toward them.
As we face situations and deal with personalities that differ from our own, might we choose this year to simply adopt God’s approach toward the brokenness of others? Rebels live daily in a prison of their own construction. Our approach, should we choose it, can be one of compassion, patient enduring, and tolerance.
By the way, God is not patient forever. There is a day of judgment, but that day belongs to Him alone. It is not ours to assign or to impose. (See 2 Peter 3:9-10, Acts 1:6-7). Ours is to declare God’s kindness, tolerance, and patience with rebellion now…but not forever. His righteousness endures forever. His motives are declared. His patience is on full display. His power is undeniable. All this points to the clarion call of urgency, today is the Day of Salvation! Choose today to yield to Him and then, in obedience, walk out His purposeful kindness, tolerance, and patience toward others as you (a believer) enjoy it yourself…by grace through faith.
I recently ran across a letter that my dad wrote me in 1994. Yes, that 1994. Five years before Prince set the standard on partying. Six years before the predicted end of the world (Y2K). Seven years before the 9/11 attacks that changed…well, everything. Twenty-six years before the global pandemic known as Covid.
I was working as an Army Recruiter at the time. I was killing it! I had just been selected as the New Recruiter of the Year for my Battalion and Brigade and went on to rank third at the US Army Board. I also had a 13-month-old son and a wife of almost six years at home.
My dad was working as a Probation and Parole Agent for the State of South Carolina. He wrote me a personal letter and included a poem that he said he wrote to keep him humble in his work. I am not sure if he wrote the letter prompted by nostalgia as he considered my new stage in life as a dad, or if he was just saying hello…or if he was doing a little dad coaching given my recent successes…but as I read it a few times in recent days, I found it to contain some of that “dad wisdom” that he became really effective at sharing through our latter years together. (Or maybe he always was…and I just became a better listener.) I chose to maintain Dad’s voice throughout, complete with his choice of words (which seemed a little forced for the sake of rhyme) grammar, etc. They make me smile. While Dad was a pretty important man most of my life, he didn’t let it go to his head. Not even a “wee little bit.”
As we begin a new year, an opportunity lies before us. We can choose to live with a perspective like this–one of humility and empathy. We live in days where “zingers” and caustic tweets are rewarded with likes and shares. Our culture celebrates the bombastic tones of impertinent people more than calm, considerate, and understanding interactions. We can do better. We can choose better. It begins with perspective. Thanks, dad! From the other side of the desk…
Have you ever considered the response of Israel’s religious leaders to Jesus’ birth announcement. After four centuries of prophetic silence and even longer of foreign occupation and subjection under their nation’s enemies, the most well-versed leaders of ancient Judaism, glossed right over the birth of the Messiah.
1Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; For out of you shall come forth a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”
Matthew 2:1–6 (NASB95)
From their own recitation of the prophet Micah, they knew the facts of the anticipated King. The Messiah of the nation, the promised descendent of David, the King who would deliver His people…and the inquiry from the men from the East…yet no curiosity. No concern. No urgency. Simply an answer to the question and back to business.
Was it apathy? Possibly. Could they have been distracted? Not likely…after all, if the governor commands an audience of all the religious scholars and experts of the land, it is doubtful that the singular question would be a source of distraction. Perhaps it was something more subtly sinister. Perhaps, they did not like the implications.
The religious leaders were in charge. To the people, they arbitrated the relationship between God and man. They had respect. Their status, their perceived value, their pride… all was at risk if the King actually did appear. If God sent a deliverer, what would change for these men? But, more than that. These men would go from being sought to seeking. They would shift from pronouncing terms of deliverance to pursuing it themselves.
Therein lies the reason that Jesus is often rejected. It is not because of His power or the promise of being delivered, but of the implications of His Sovereignty. If He is a delivering King, then He must be King as well as Deliverer.
Luke records a story of a “wealthy religious leader” who approached Jesus (Luke 18:18-30). The young man desired eternal life but rejected it when Jesus lovingly articulated the demands. Turn loose of this world and live for the world to come and you will have eternal life. Reject the world where you have pride, prestige, and power. Choose instead the world where Jesus is King. Jesus said the man walked away from the encounter despondent…because the perceived loss eclipsed the man’s value of the desired gains.
Is that you today? Do you love the idea of King Jesus more than the implications of having a King in your life? Have you evaluated the loss you’ll incur as greater than the benefit you’ll receive? What if, though, Jesus is precisely what you need and now is the perfect time? Why not receive the greatest gift ever…today. Confess your rebellion to the Lord asking for forgiveness. Trust His response that the debt is settled. Walk in new life, with a new leader, and newly understood love. Come to Jesus today.
A report published by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in August 2023, indicates that the suicide rate for Americans has increased to levels not seen since 1941. This marks a 1% increase over the previous year and translates to nearly 50,000 Americans taking their own lives last year.
The numbers are shocking.
Suicide among females increased at 4% while males increased by 1%. Still, men are nearly four times more likely to commit suicide than women.
Rates of suicide for younger Americans decreased (under 35 for men and under 25 for women) but saw a sharp increase above those ages. The largest increases occurred above age 75.
Why? Certainly, data points do not tell that part of the story, but I do believe they suggest possibilities that can be categorized by three words: Identity, Purpose, and Ownership.
Ownership. Who is responsible for your life? There are many things about our lives that we should take responsibility for. Our coming into being is not one of them. Each person reading this (yes, both of you), is on this planet as the result of the choice of another. You were sustained in your earliest and most vulnerable days by the care of another. Someone chose you. You may say, “Not me! I was a surprise to my parents…an inconvenient consequence of passion…a product of a terrible set of circumstances.” Others may resist this idea, clinging to some American ideal of autonomy; but, the greater consideration should be authority. If someone created you and cared for you, then they had and have some authority over your life. That is…ownership. The issue of authority or ownership is at the forefront of the Apostle Paul’s teachings:
…you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (NASB95)
Paul, not immune to his own teaching, most often referred to himself as a slave/bondservant of Christ. A doulos in the original language…referring to someone under the authority and care of a master…as an act of willful submission. Paul’s identity as a bondservant makes no sense apart from the authority and status of His Master. (More on this in a moment).
Purpose. Everyone needs purpose. This is one of the fundamental ingredients to joyful living. It is the WHY that gets you out of bed, fuels you in times of peace, and sustains you in times of trial. Purpose is also inherent in every person. The Lord spoke this to the Old Testament Prophet Jeremiah:
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah 1:5 (NASB95)
Long before Jeremiah could form a thought or make a choice, the God of heaven had a plan for Him. A reason for existing. A “Why” for his life. That’s not only true for Jeremiah, but for all of us; and, not only in our creation, but for the Christian, in our reconciled relationship with God through His Son, Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Ephesians 2:8–10 (NASB95) italics added
This purpose is not a product of our doing and it is not distinct from God’s purpose for us before we were created in the womb. You have a WHY! It has eternally existed in the mind of God. If we buy into the American ideal of autonomy, then the purpose is up to us, but if we are under authority, then we do not have to conjure up our reason, only discern our assignment.
Identity. With Ownership and Purpose comes Identity. We are, in some ways, instruments of God’s divine will. But we are more than that. Yes, He created us for a purpose, but not in the same way that a blacksmith makes a horseshoe, or an architect draws a blueprint. We are not merely the marks on a canvas by a master Artist. We are far more. We are adopted children of the great God who purposed our creation…if we are born again through His Son Jesus.
“See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are…Beloved, now we are children of God…”
1 John 3:1-2 (NASB95). italics added
Growing up in my hometown, I was known to many as “Big Boy’s” son. My dad was a policeman in the town and well known. Because I was his kid, I had an identity. The same became true for me when I joined the Army. When I enlisted, I came wholly under the authority and care of the Officers appointed over me in service to the nation. I made very few decisions for myself except whether or not to obey orders. In this relationship, I gained a new identity: a Soldier.
Implications. I think that part of the contributing factors to the increase in deaths by suicide relate to these three issues. There is a rebellion against authority. I get it. No one taught me to be a rebel either. It is part of my nature…my fallen nature. It’s important to remember though, that my rebellion does not negate the reality of authority. You can speed down the highway but that doesn’t change the speed limit or cause the Highway Patrol to vanish. The authority exists and it works best when you and I embrace it—not only as real but as good.
The authority informs purpose. You are not a mistake or a surprise. You are not the product of mere human reproductive processes. You are purposefully made. Even if your parents had no idea what they were doing, there is a good God with authority who willed your being into being and used the means He saw fit to do it. He wants you to live out that purpose. Yes, you and I mess that up and, at times, stray far from it…but through God’s redemptive actions in Jesus, He restores us to the potential of fulfilling that purpose. Fueling God’s acts of creation and restoration is a relationship. You are more than a number and more than a means to an end. You are a precious and loved son or daughter of the reigning King. He did not just bring you onto the ranch; rather, He set you a place at His table.
I imagine that the missing hope in the lives of everyone who took their lives comes down to one or more of these three things. If so, that means the ultimate answer to a climbing suicide rate is not more counseling, more hotlines, or more controls on social media. It is not new legislation that provides greater restrictions on the means employed to end one’s own life. The ultimate answer is hope derived from Ownership, Purpose, and Identity. The way people come to understand this…is through the intentional telling and retelling of the story by those who live out their purpose, under the authority of God, as His children…made possible by the precious sacrifice of Christ on our behalf which settles the debt of sin and restores the hope of pursuing God’s good design again.
If hope is waning for you, would you let me know? I’d love to pray for you and share with you more about God’s design and how it informs our Ownership, Purpose, and Identity. Until then, know that you matter. Your life matters. And the One who graciously gave those to you wants you to experience the benefits of them to the full!
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