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The Dignity of Fate
“It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you” —John 15: 16
The gospel of Christianity is not only that the Creator loves us, that He understands us, and that He accepted the due punishment of our misdeeds so that we may join His holy family in the splendor of the Lord’s presence. The “good news” is also that there is a place in His plans for all. Our lives are never without purpose and value.
It can be said with certainty that you exist at the right place and the right time.
This is not to suggest that the direction of your life is determined wholly by God. Free will is at the very heart of Christianity, which asserts that the common purpose of all people is “to know and love God” — that love being a free choice and deliberative action.
Rather, it means that the Lord brings good from all things. Whatever your choices, whatever forces are set against you and challenges placed before you, no matter how low and weak you are left by circumstance, despite the mistakes you have made, you live because the Lord with dominion over all life still sees value in your earthly life. Your life still has purpose, if you choose to welcome it, not just for your own interests but for the wondrous glory of God.
In Nazi prison camps, Jews were stripped of their clothes and paraded around like cattle. One might say their dignity was attacked. But no one and nothing can strip you of your dignity as an adopted child of God. Not crime nor disease nor poverty or humiliation can steal from you His unconditional love.
In that is courage for every circumstance. What shame is there in weakness if the Lord stands by one’s side? Concern yourself with truth and love. Our enemies and trials will all pass away, but His love will remain.
Published in Religion & Philosophy“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear?” —Psalms 27
Just the fact that there were many concentration camp survivors indicates that the Jews retained their dignity even after the externals were stripped away. They organized orchestras and libraries in the camps. Nothing comes between a Jew and his G-d, not even a Nazi.
“Rather, it means that the Lord brings good from all things. Whatever your choices, whatever forces are set against you and challenges placed before you, no matter how low and weak you are left by circumstance, despite the mistakes you have made, you live because the Lord with dominion over all life still sees value in your earthly life. Your life still has purpose, if you choose to welcome it, not just for your own interests but for the wondrous glory of God.“
Thank you! I find myself looking forward to your posts on the Christian faith. I keep forgetting what I should know already. It’s good to be reminded.
There is no greater humanism than Christianity, which proclaims that the Creator took on the form of His creation so that He glorifies us while we glorify Him.