There are 3 things that should convince you that you are never in absolute control: your birth, your life and your death. Taking a quick look at these can serve to humble us to the place where we address the issue of, “If we are not in control then… who exactly is?” Maybe you think this to be a tedious topic but I actually believe it greatly impacts us. This issue determines the quality of your time here on earth and also the substance of your eternity. Certainly I’m coming from a Christian point of view but I think I can, at the very least, help us all to agree of the bottom line: you have never been in full control of you and you never will.
Your birth – no need to invest too much time on this one. You didn’t choose your parents. You didn’t choose your time of birth. Nobody asked where you would like to be born and spend your formative years. Your input about your entrance to earth was not regarded as necessary and you were simply deposited here. How did you get here? For Christians, we believe God purposefully chose the circumstances of our birth to suit His intended purpose. For non-believers, chance was on the throne and -poof! – here you are. Regardless of what your personal views are on the source of your startup date, someone or something else originated us and not we ourselves.
Your life – it hasn’t turned out quite like you planned has it? Whether better or worse, it is certainly not the life you envisioned. You never wanted pain. If you were in control there would have not been busted relationships, personal failure or heartbreaking tragedy. If you were in control then your spouse would still be by your side, your mother and father would have always been there for you, your children would never have rebelled. If you were in control, no matter how good it has been for you, it would have been better had you been empowered to call all the shots. Were things in your full power you would always have exactly what you want and upon the very moment you wanted it. But you know that you have not ever been in full control of your life. Every day you encounter things that frustrate, disappoint, hurt, anger or intimidate you. Each of these components that falls short of your desire serve to remind you that you… are…NOT…in control of things. Certainly if you were, you would always serve your desired purpose.
Your death – at what hour will you leave this world and by what means? Will there be pain or will you go silently? Tell me, will you die happy and free or darkened and troubled? Will there be others by your side? Will people grieve? If so, how many and where will they gather for your memorial? These simple diagnostics remind us just how powerless we are when it comes to our exits from this life. You can plan your funeral but you cannot schedule it. The statistics can be alarming: 100 out of 100 people die and (apart from the tragedy of suicide) none of those people are in full control. You won’t be the exception.
So what do we do with this intrusive truth? Well, we are led to the issue of “Just who is the controller since we are not?” That will be the topic for a blog at a later date. In the meantime I leave you with this thought and a verse from Scripture. My thought: Since you are not in full control of your birth, life or death … have you given any thought to the fact that you have zero control of what occurs after your death? And now the verse…the answer:
“Our God is in the heavens; He does all that he pleases.” – Psalm 115:3 ESV
This is a continuous potter’s wheel for me.
To believe the lie (I am in control) leaves me only two states of mind: terror or arrogance.
I no longer have the frame for either. Yet the idea of resting in God can seem a bit lazy.
So….I press in with prayer to make sure I am reminded that He WANTS me to give up the gavel.
Well said, Daughter!
I love it, Jeff, when you use that fine mind that God gave to you to lay out irrefutable logic like this. I will be pointing some men I know to this blog entry today.
Dad
P.S. look for a spot on you calendar when we can have lunch.