“You are a child of the universe, no less than
the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is
clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.”
—Desiderata (part) by Max Erhmann, 1927
Existence is a fickle thing, or at
least it seems that way. Most of us question whether our existence means
anything, at least at one point in our lives, and for many it is more a
continual process. We can doubt that we even belong. Of course, we have times
when we know we belong. Life is more joyful during these times. Fear vanishes.
What proof is there that we truly
belong in life? This question has a straightforward answer.
Like the Trees and Stars, We Were
Created
God destined that we be created,
and by the processes designed by God we came into the world. We are here by
God’s intention, not in spite of the intentions of our parents, but enabling their
intention and even going forward of their intention in many, many cases.
God created each one of us, within
our own little corners of the world, in varying circumstances, out of love.
Sometimes this might be hard for us to see. Why are we born into worlds of
pain? Why is there misery, suffering, loss? Is God some sort of sadistic God?
No, we attribute our broken world to our broken humanity—we, after all, were
designed to be governed by God. We were created to follow God’s will. But we
chose our own way.
Whenever we don’t follow God’s
will we feel estranged, even as if we don’t belong.
But when we assume, and act upon,
our innate role—as children of God, dearly beloved—we are suddenly delimited,
and we know we
belong. We were created to belong. We belong with God eternally, and this life,
this existence, is a mere sojourn from our true belonging.
Perhaps we don’t feel we belong
because we don’t feel we are home; this, in many respects, is true. But, more
than that, wherever God is, is home. When we feel God is present—and we can
know this any time by drawing near—we have a temporary homecoming. We belong.
Purpose
Our purpose comes out of a sense
of belonging.
When we know we belong—and we
do—everywhere God has placed us—despite what some others may think—we attract
our purpose. Our purpose becomes obvious. Our purpose becomes what we need to
do, and when we feel we belong we do those things in love, and we experience
joy and peace.
© 2012 S. J. Wickham.
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