Just the way it is

When I was a kid, a popular series of books was published entitled Choose Your Own Adventure. Rather than reading these books cover to cover, the reader would read a few pages and then choose from a set of options as to how they would like the story to continue. I think I read almost every one of these books in my library. I simply loved the ability to control my own destiny, to be part of the story which was unfolding. However, there is one thing I did not like. I did not like the fact that I didn’t always know what story my choice would unfold. I didn’t like making a “bad” choice and ending up in some sticky situation. So, I cheated. Holding my place, I would skip ahead and review both options so that I might know what would happen should I choose one or the other. Knowing the possible futures, I would then choose how to proceed, knowing full well, of course, just how the story would unfold.

I can’t tell you how many times I have wished that life were as simple as one of those Choose Your Own Adventure books. Time and again I have faced down choices, forks in the road and wondered, sometimes aloud, what would happen should I make one choice or the other. Should I go right, or is it better to go left? What if I just did nothing? I strain to see what might be and stress over what might become, but no matter how hard I try, I simply cannot see how the story will unfold. I get scared of making the “wrong” choice and just about fret myself to death. I don’t know about you, but I really want to know. I want to know what will be the result of my choice.

I think most of us are wired this way. Perhaps a part of this is pain avoidance. We don’t like to hurt, so we don’t want to choose something that will hurt us or others. Perhaps part of our desire to know is rooted in our intolerance for failure. None of us likes to fail. It wounds our ego and our reputation. However true these may be, I don’t actually think they are what worry me most when I face down a significant choice. What bothers me most is wrapped up in my desire to make the best use of my time and life. Maybe it is because I am aging (I turn the ripe old age of 41 in just a few weeks and my kids think I am ancient), but I am coming to the point that I realize I don’t have all the time in the world. I finally realize that I am limited and I don’t want to waste my limited resources on paths that will not deliver. Simply put, I don’t want to waste my life. I want to choose those things that move me and others toward a God-intended significance. The only problem is I don’t always know what that is.

Oh, you caught that. That’s right. I don’t always know. There is one thing I do know. There is one adventure that is always a sure bet, and that is the adventure of joining with God in what he is doing in the world. I know what you are thinking. Why would I want to join with what God is doing? What can someone like me do in a world like this? I read the papers and catch the headlines. The world is a great big mess and the bottom line is I can’t do too much to effect change in this world. I get it that I am limited and the problems are huge. When I realize this I am tempted to do nothing. The problems are too big and I am too small. How about I just let God handle it in his time and his way? That sounds great, but I know something about God’s time and way. I have discovered that God doesn’t wish to change this world apart from me.

I know, that sounds weird and more than a bit presumptuous, but it is true. There is this divine-human tension in which I can’t do much but God doesn’t desire to do much apart from me. When I say “Yes” to God’s invitation to join him, amazing things happen, always. Yep, you heard it here. ALWAYS! I am discovering that the more I say “Yes” the more I see how these amazing things are not just outside me but they also take place inside me. I am transformed even as I witness God’s movement to transform what surrounds me. Sometimes that transformation is slow, like water wearing away layers of rock. At other times this transformation is like dynamite blasting away what seemed immovable. Regardless of the speed, it happens, every time. It is exciting and exhilarating to watch, even more so to know that it happens, in part, because I said “Yes” because I said, “I will choose that adventure.”

A fellow traveler,

Blake

What’s my next step?

We encourage you to consider engaging in the following as a way of handing off faith in your family.

Say “Yes” through service: God is doing much in this world, and he desires that we partner with him. It is in our partnership with him that we experience his transforming power personally and witness it in the world around us. This week, we invite you to consider how your family might partner with God. This partnership might be in the choice to care for an elderly neighbor on a regular basis, or to sponsor a child through a ministry like Compassion International. Your family’s choice will often be rooted in your personal context and fit with your passions. Agree as a family as to what your partnering with God looks like and then do it. Over time celebrate what you witness God doing through your family and in your family. You are part of a grand adventure!

We encourage you to consider engaging in the following as a way of deepening your own faith.

Partner with God: God can do great things but his desire is to do these great things through people like you and me. This week, consider asking God to open your eyes to what he is doing around you. As he begins to show you where he is at work, consider joining him in practical ways, knowing that his desire is to accomplish his work through people like you. If you do not know what partnering with God looks like specifically, you might consider participating in the Day of Compassion on May 31 or the Service Expo on June 1.