If we were to ask a stranger on the street to divulge their life story to us, we’d probably be surprised to hear what they’ve gone through and overcome. While I don’t recommend doing this, it could prove a valuable lesson. Every single person has something they’ve lived through that has helped to shape and mold who they are, how they relate to God, and how they relate to others.
For some, we’ve stared into the eyes of some circumstances that have forever changed us. During them we chose to run into the wide-open arms of the Father. Finding ourselves in his rest strengthened us to get out and continue to fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12).
Others of us may have become confused when the hardships came our way. Overtime, we began to see the world through jade-colored glasses. As our view of life’s fairness changed, so did our perception of God. I mean, if he was truly God, he wouldn’t let these things happen, right? Sometimes all the goodness that he is can be overshadowed by the intentions and hearts of mere men.
We may forget that people are people, and that it’s only through Jesus that we remain upright and righteous. Because of the limits of human nature, when we see the shortcomings of others, our shifted outlook on life causes us to take it personally when we are on the receiving end of others’ not-so-great decisions.
Viewing God as an unfair God impacts every part of our lives — especially how we relate to and view others. It becomes difficult to celebrate what the Lord has done for others because we can only see how it hasn’t happened for us. And we never get off the ‘life is unfair’ train.
I hesitate to call God fair, but I do believe he is just. He is kind. He is love. We may not always see how God has favored our lives; we may not always be privy to how God has cleared the path to victory for us. But we don’t have to know it all to know we serve a God that knows it all. Every intricate detail of our lives has been planned out, and we can trust that God wastes nothing — ALL things work together for our good (Romans 8:28). Every experience, good or bad, has molded us, hopefully more in the likeness of Jesus. Our experiences can be used to bring awareness to issues and help minister to others.
When we take on the mind of a champion, we acknowledge hardships, but don’t let them keep us down long. And we know we can always go to God in prayer. He’s always with us and always willing to listen. Always willing to shift our narrative if we’d only invite him in.
Featured Photo by Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels; In-text Photo by Sora Shimazaki on Pexels
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One Response
Tacoi, a couple of thoughts. First, I believe asking others their story is a great way to get to know them. We’re going to feature a new mobile app based on that approach to sharing the gospel. So asking others their story is a great way to begin the conversation!
Second, I am glad God’s not fair. If he were fair, I think he would have struck me dead when I first sinned. Fortunately, he put my sin over on Jesus. None of us knows the whole story. If we did, we wouldn’t question. I doubt we’d even be able to speak. One day, every knee will bow. When we see him, I believe we’ll be so blown away, we won’t be able to stand.
Thanks for another great post. I appreciate how you make me think. Mike…
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