A Letter: Walk Humbly with Your God

I wrote this letter as an initiative to get parents involved in the spiritual lives of their youth.  It included a PDF with talking points. 

Parents,

What a night!  We had quite the conversation.  The attached PDF was written before meeting, so I'd like to address one more point that came up spontaneously.  Talking about predestination means talking about the nature of time.  Is the future already decided?  Or do we have an impact on what the future holds?  This is a discussion not even scientists will necessarily agree on.  Spiritually speaking, should our religious motives be that of discovering the plans God has for our lives, or rather... take responsibility for the lives we make for ourselves?  While the church answer tends to lean towards the former, I would have to say scripture does not so easily explain free will and the consequences of our actions.  In Revelation there is a story about all humanity being resurrected.  Death, Hades, and the Sea (the sea?) spit out every person that ever lived into this court-room setting.  Then, God reads our "books of life."  The author describes this scenario as if we have each written a book with our lives.  We are authors, whether we realize it or not.  Now after reading our books, a larger book is brought out.  This "Lamb's Book of Life" holds names in it.  Interestingly, if our books write God into them, God writes us into His book.  This isn't a story about God's plan.  It's a story about our creative ability to write with our lives!  

So naturally, your children wanted to know where God's "Will" fits into our lives.  If God's will isn't a plan or a treasure map of some sort, what is it?  Here's what scripture says.  When Jesus is approached by a Teacher of the Law, he is asked "How do I gain eternal life?"  Jesus asks this man a question in return.  "What do the prophets say?"  That Teacher, a knowledgeable man, quickly responds, "Love the Lord your God with all your soul and all your strength and all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself."  Jesus says "yep." (paraphrasing)

Yep?  That's it?  
Yep.

Jesus keeps it simple.  Of course, the Teacher wants to know more.  Who is my neighbor?  So Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan.  

It has always fascinated me that the "Will of God" is so simple.  Sometimes we can have so much anxiety about finding God's plan for our lives that we forget to love.

"He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?"
Micah 6:8

The Will of God is a WAY we do life.  If your child becomes a stay-at-home parent with 13 kids (tax-free!), but loves people and loves God, she is doing the will of God!  And if your child moves to Calcutta, India and works hands-on with lepers and dying people?  Well, as long as it is done with a loving heart, they are doing the Will of God!  God has created us with variety!  God seems to like it.  God's creative like that.

Maybe somewhere inside you think you should have become someone else.  Maybe you even secretly think you're on some kind of divine back-up plan.  Don't.  Life is life.  What you can do, no matter your family situation, is walk humbly with your God.  And your children will see that.

Humbly,
Chris A.