I am Here (and so are you)

Where are you? Right now. Think about it. (No, this isn't an exercise in geography. Oblige me for a moment.) Have you ever stopped to ponder where you are, as a life on this earth? The places you routinely traverse, the people you have made connections within the web of social spheres, the daily humdrum of activity that creates the habitual patterns of your existence? It is a life that is uniquely yours. One that no one else has ever lived, nor ever will again. The picture of our current experience of reality is the culmination of so many defining factors. What if one of them were different? What if you were transplanted 50, 100, 2,000 miles away? Think about the different people you would be connected with, and how those connections (and the lack of the relationships you have now) would change you, and would alter the way you impact the world.

Because we do impact our world. Small decisions can have far reaching consequences. When visiting my great uncle's family in Washington, he said, "I tell my grandkids all the time, 'The decisions you make now don't just affect you. They will impact others for generations.' " He is right. I look back through our family history albums and am amazed by the way history unfolds. The choices of these people who I never knew resulted in the reality that my family and I are here today. And it is not just the fact that we are here at all that is amazing. It is that we are alive today.

I have often wondered what it would be like to live in a different period in history. To grow up in a culture, or country, divergent from the one I have experienced. Yet I wasn't born in some other time or raised in some other place, but live here and now. Who can fathom how God, as the architect of history, who knows every possible outcome of the decisions of mankind, knew exactly how each life would impact the others, and placed them accordingly. He stitched me exactly where I am in the tapestry of humanity, so that my life would uniquely cross with so many others. And He did the same for you. You are intentional, and immensely valuable. Placed with purpose, led with love. Gifted with untapped potential. And because of the power of your destiny, and mine too, there will be many attempts to have it stolen from us. The enemy wants to blind us to the strength and immeasurable loving-kindness of the Father. That fallen angel would rather us be orphans without an inheritance.

Acts 17:26
From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that..

So that what? Why am I placed where I am? The more charged question, why does God allow certain things to happen to people? Wouldn't the God of love desire only blessing for His children? I think this is an especially hard concept for my generation to grasp. We are known for our mindset of entitlement. The benefits of hard work (i.e. Pain) have been largely lost on us. So why? What's the reason behind circumstances that are beyond any individual's control?

Vs. 27-28
... So that they would seek Him, and perhaps reach out for Him, and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us. 'For in Him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'we are His offspring.'

God's ultimate desire is not our mere happiness. (Can you imagine the toddler who gets everything they want all the time? That's dysfunctional madness.) Remember the prophet Hosea, whom God instructed to marry a prostitute because she would be unfaithful. Is that cruel on God's part? No, cruelty is contrary to His nature. He is faithful always. He works all things for good. The brokenness of this covenant personified Israel's own abominable unfaithfulness to their God. Withholding this example would take away an opportunity for repentance and reconciliation. The Lord needed to call His people back to His heart. This was an opportunity He wasn't willing to forfeit. I believe the Lord's desire is for us to have the greatest opportunity of knowing Him and making Him known to others. He wants us to know life as His children, and to bring many, many more home. This is true satisfaction. This is joy that transcends circumstance. This is what it means to be truly alive.

It isn't my job to analyze why I am where I am right now, or to try and fabricate some elevated grand scheme of my "Divine assignment". The Lord reveals and conceals with equal purpose. I must humble myself daily, seek His voice, and obey His commandments. I can embrace ambiguous uncertainty, for I know that it exercises the muscle of trust which strengthens my faith, without which I cannot please the Father. But in having faith for the future I want to be sure not to lose sight of the sacredness of now. The daily provisions and opportunities that come directly from God's hand above. Holiness is here, in the commonplace, for who can see but God how our response to the mundane shapes eternity.