Tuesday, June 21, 2011

An Accident?

Have you ever wondered whether or not you popped onto the scene by accident? Perhaps God blinked - BINGO; there you were! Perhaps through no fault of your own you arrived unexpectedly. Oops! Now what?

Did your arrival force God to do some fancy footwork? Has He had time to fit you into His original plan; does He care to? Is He even aware that you exist? Are you destined to remain a wandering generality or is it possible for you to become a meaningful specific?

Thousands of such questions go through the minds of countless individuals. They secretly haunt and they often taunt. Left unanswered they rob individuals of purpose and personal fulfillment. Taking matters into their own hands, individuals often recoil into a self-imposed and lonely vacuum - thereby correcting “the accident” by seemingly not existing at all....

Perhaps you were “given up” for adoption, maybe you were unplanned, possibly born out of wedlock. Perhaps your biological parents were separated before you were born or maybe you don’t even know who they are. On the other side of the coin, perhaps you were born into a family that, for all intent and purpose, appears to be the solid bedrock of your community. You have no logical reason for feeling detached. Nevertheless, you do. Your loneliness and unanswered questions are very real to you.

I’ve got some good news! No, I didn’t say I have the answer. I said I have some good news - and it might be just enough to give you new hope.

You may not fully comprehend it yet but you were created in the heart and mind of God long before you were ever fashioned through the biological instrument of man. I want to say this once again because I know you are having difficulty believing it. You were created in the heart and mind of God LONG BEFORE you were ever fashioned through the biological instrument of man.

I know, I know; you’ve heard it before. Well meaning people have tried to encourage you. You’re not sure if they really believe it themselves or if they are simply attempting to modify your life so that they can be more comfortable in theirs. But, you’ve concluded that it is better to keep your feelings hidden rather than to cause those you love to be frustrated by your emotions. Right? You’ve reasoned that expressing your needs just serves to create more of a problem than it’s worth....

The specific circumstance surrounding your birth may not appear Divine but consider for a moment the circumstances surrounding God’s original creation of mankind. Consider, from Adam’s point of view, the circumstances surrounding his creation.

Did God begin His creation of Adam by stretching forth His hand and gathering just a bit of the sparkle from one of His newly created stars? Did He gently blend in the purity of a drop of dew, the warmth of the sun and calm of a cool breeze to bring Adam into existence? God certainly could have. Each was in existence - and we are told in the Bible that God had already proclaimed that each was good.

Listen carefully. There is an important message here. It is written specifically to those who might question their existence. It is for you! Imagine that. The very first story of the Bible is a story for YOU! Sounds like it might be important enough to take a second look at, wouldn’t you say?

God did not use the sparkle of a star, the purity of a drop of dew, the warmth of the sun the calm of a cool breeze or the beauty of all creation to bring Adam into existence. Almighty God chose to gather a hand full of plain old dirt to fashion Adam into His own image. Now, how do you think Adam felt about that? Not much to brag about was it?

So, maybe Adam deserves a little empathy here. Doesn’t he have cause to question his importance? I mean, after all, consider the Divine order of creation. He was made of dirt, and created LAST! Why didn’t God create Adam first, and allow him to observe creation from a vantage point in heaven? Did Adam have reason to feel that he too was perhaps just an afterthought?

Consider also that although Adam’s place of residence was a garden paradise, created by the very hand of God, his first recorded emotion was loneliness.

Can you identify a little bit with Adam?

Isn’t it amazing? Adam had no mother or father to turn to. He was totally dependent upon God and God’s Divine purpose. And although Adam walked in the very presence of Almighty God, he still felt a sense of loneliness. God didn’t label Adam as ungrateful. God lovingly filled the void in Adam’s life by creating Eve. You see, He’d planned for Adam’s need all along. God has a funny way of doing those kind of things; planning ahead and filling voids....

You know, it’s not unusual for God to express His love through circumstances we might consider to be inferior. Wasn’t it a humble manger that became the birthplace for the King of Kings? Wasn’t it a vile cross from which the cries of final victory were shouted? Wasn’t it a tomb (on temporary loan of course), from which death was defeated and life eternal was made possible for all who would believe?

Let me get to the point. God does not hold us accountable for how we got here. Our arrival was known to Him from eternity past. He lovingly made provision to fill the spiritual, emotional, physical and social needs of our lives and to give us purpose. Most important, He still desires fellowship with us - on a continual, forever basis. And since the physical circumstances of our birth may haunt and taunt us, His provision for us includes a new birth - through His son, Jesus.

You are not the end result of a moment of weakness, a painful memory or hurtful circumstance. You are quite the opposite. You are the physical expression of His love. You are an individual; a person of great potential for fellowship with Him to enjoy His plan for your life and to share His love with others. Through His birth, you are a meaningful specific. You are living proof that when yielded to His love and creative power, life has new meaning and purpose.

So, when those times of insecurity creep into your heart (and because we are human they certainly will), remember that there are no accidents with God. He is never caught off guard or by surprise, and He values you so much that He gave Himself so that He might enjoy fellowship with you forever!

God bless!

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