This is a question that has perplexed me for many years. Oh, I’ve heard the answers of laymen and theologians, but none of them answered the question so that it satisfied my curiosity. Some say God created mankind for fellowship. That didn’t fly with me because He already has fellowship – perfect fellowship in Father, Son and Spirit and a host of angels. Others say so that He would have worship. That answer also left me unsatisfied – He has the ultimate worship in the heavenly choir. And our worship is imperfect at its best. No, I reasoned, that couldn’t be right.

There is a group that believes God created mankind to obey Him, as if God needs someone to bolster His ego.

“Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him” (Isaiah 43:7)

“Thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:11) 

According to http://kirkcameron.com/articles/god-create-man-knowing-sin:

The Purpose of Man

Man was created for God’s pleasure and for His glory. That was true for Adam and Eve, and is true for all mankind throughout the centuries. Our purpose in life is to please God by living in a way that honors and glorifies Him, by being His steward and His ambassador on earth and by living in right relationship with Him. Borrowing from the Westminster Shorter Catechism, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”

That sounded pretty good to me: it’s short, sweet, and supported by Scripture verses. I like it. In fact, of all the answers I have seen, this one is ‘correct’. But it still didn’t satisfy my “WHY?” And how do we bring Him glory and pleasure when we are so ugly? He doesn’t need us – for anything!

As I have pondered this question, I have finally come up with an answer that satisfies me. It probably won’t satisfy anyone else, but it has shined the light of understanding in such a way that I can now understand how mankind brings Him glory and pleasure.

Everyone knows, I assume, the story of the fall of Lucifer and how God cast Lucifer out of heaven because of his pride and rebellion. (Isaiah 14:12-14, Ezekiel 28:12-19)

I had this thought: suppose, as God was casting Lucifer and his minions out, that Lucifer taunted God with something like “No one would serve you willingly. No one, not even one you created just for that purpose, would choose you!”

I can just see the Mona Lisa smile on God’s lips, and hear His voice thunder “Watch and learn!”

And God created mankind. And God gets glory every time someone chooses good over evil. And the angels in heaven laugh and rejoice when someone believes in the finished work of Jesus Christ and becomes a member of the Kingdom of God.

And the devils get madder and madder, hotter and hotter, tormenting and terrorizing those who have proven them wrong: we have chosen to serve God willingly – in deed, in worship, in words. And one day, this great cloud of witnesses will stand by at Lucifer’s final judgement and watch as he is cast out one last time – into the lake of fire that burns eternally! Hallelujah!

I don’t know about you, but I am a champion of social media. Of course, like everything else, it needs to be enjoyed in moderation. But I love being instantly connected to the day-to-day lives of family and friends all around the globe. A sweet friend in Romania was recently engaged! I was overjoyed to share in the pictures of that momentous occasion.

I also get to enjoy pictures of birthday parties and anniversaries that I would never be able to attend, as well as news of reports cards (good and bad), babies’ first teeth, graduations, marriages, and sometimes, deaths of a dear friend’s loved one. I can play Scrabble with my sisters who live in different states hundreds of miles apart, and giggle as my nephew gloats over passing me in a silly minefield game.

Yes, I like social media, even with all of its faults. And today I was able to observe firsthand one of the effects of social media and ‘instant’ response time.

There was a ‘news’ posting that my cousin shared (I don’t subscribe to any of them – but sometimes they are shared). This one purported to come out of Seattle and was a report of 16 anti-Trump protesters who had linked arms across a busy freeway, blocking traffic as they chanted ‘dump Trump’. The article went on to say that after a few minutes they separated and let traffic pass and when the roadway was running smoothly again, they linked arms again and spread themselves across the freeway again. Only this time, tragedy struck as a trucker could not stop in time and hit six of the protestors, killing four instantly while the other two died later at the hospital.

This was a very sad story and I haven’t even researched to find out if it is true. Because that isn’t the point of this posting. What I noticed was that about two dozen people had commented on the post and not one of them had ANY compassion for those who had (reported to have) been killed. NOT ONE.

My heart is breaking for this nation. What has happened to us that makes us so unconcerned with those who hold different opinions than we do? When did we become so calloused as to think someone deserves to die if they don’t share our political views (or social views)?

Wake up, Americans. No one, not even me, is promised tomorrow. We could step off a curb today into eternity. Do we really want to stand before the God who created the BIG BANG that created the universe and try to justify ourselves for the things that we are allowing to take place in this country? I don’t. I encourage you to stand up and fight for the downtrodden, the lost, the hurting, the orphans, the widows, and all those who disagree with you. Fight FOR them, not with them! It is our only hope….

Matthew 5:44 But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you,

That’s what I started out intending to do today – make plans and change lives. I confess to not being very adept at it. You see, my personality type is one that is concerned more for what others want than what I want and consequently, whenever I try to make plans I am driven by my concern about the impact of MY plan on the lives of family members, friends, my church, the DOG! If I were a younger woman with family still at home or a job to consider then I think my general reticence to make a plan without taking into account its impact on everyone else would be a reasonable thing. The issue is that I have no family at home. It is just me and my little red wagon. That’s all. So why am I so concerned about the impact of MY plan on THEIR lives? I just don’t know. Anyway, I back-burnered the idea in favor of puttering around the house taking care of little things and generally relaxing.

This afternoon I was busily applying vinyl lettering to a wall in my den. The phrase I was placing there is one that I love so well and really reflects who I am. Plus, I had a blank space that was crying for some attention so I thought, why not? Well, let me tell you why not……

My son showed up just as I was finishing the task. And like all grown children, he thinks he has to comment on whatever his parent is doing. And for whatever reason, the comment was not encouraging or congratulatory. No, his concern was for his mother who has started “writing” on her walls. Perhaps she needs to talk to someone about her desire to mark up the walls? Perhaps the time had come to consider some sort of ‘community’ living arrangement. Was I lonely? Too much time on my hands? Do I need a hobby? I wasn’t amused.

Thankfully, I also wasn’t upset. I didn’t expect praise for what I was doing so his comments did not come as a shock nor did they upset the peaceful emotional balance in which I have come to dwell (thank you Jesus). I also didn’t feel the need to respond or defend myself – that, my friend, is a REAL milestone (again, thank you, Jesus!)

So there I was, busily rubbing the vinyl lettering on and chatting away with my son just as if he hadn’t said anything negative or rude or condescending. His words seemed to roll off of me like water off of the back of a duck.  And as we chatted I became even more aware of my desire to ‘hit the road’ so to speak.

Anyway, back to my point – I want to spend what remains of my time on this green earth doing something that brings me joy and draws others into the circle of love of the Master. I really am not particular about what that might be. I just want to get on with it. So today’s encounter with my son revealed that I have grown quite a bit and maybe, just maybe, this time I CAN make a plan without being concerned about what the rest of the family thinks or how it will impact their lives. Because the fact is, it won’t really affect their lives at all except that I may not be available all of the time to them whenever the fancy strikes them. And that’s probably a good thing – everybody has to stand on their own some time.

Jeremiah 29:11 New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Have you ever run across people who seem to know every step they are going to take in their lives? They seem to have goals and milestones set and they work their plan, striving to attain those goals and quite often they do, seemingly effortlessly. They have struggles and set-backs but those things never seem to change the outcome of the plan. They work the plan and plan the work and meet their goals. Period.

Today I am contemplating such people and I’m not sure I believe it any longer. I began wondering if someone who never deviates from their plan has either (1) never had an unexpected, life-changing event, or (2) they are lying, or (3) they are miserable, letting their life plan dictate their decisions. And then I realized that I have never actually had an intimate discussion with anyone about their life plans and how they got to where they are and just, exactly, where are they going. I’ve had talks with people who generally are on track with where they want to be in their lives, but never actually any in-depth discussion about the mishaps they may have encountered along the way. So, now I’m on a mission: what was your life plan at 20? At 30? At 40? At 50? At 60? Are the plans different?  Did they change significantly or are they basically the same? Were there hiccups in the road that caused major milestone shifts or are the major milestones intact?

It would be easy to gather the statistical information to analyze the what’s and wherefore’s of life-plan-deviation. Yet I am interested in something much more meaningful: I want to understand the emotional stressors that impact life plans. For instance, just how much stress has to be applied for the milestone “Medical School” to be changed to “Law School” or to be dropped entirely? Conversely, what events or emotions cause someone to add a milestone “Graduate School” to their life plan after they have already passed the “Thirtieth Birthday” milestone?

I think it would make for a very interesting study, and there is a facet of the study that really interests me the most, probably because I’ve been there. There are those people among us who have suffered such catastrophic life events that their life plans have been totally scrapped. Some pick up the pieces and try to devise new live plans, and others simply don’t even try – the devastation has rocked their world and they see no point in trying to direct anything any longer – it is enough to get through today.

These are the people I want to find. I want to embrace them, and cry with them – or hold their hands and commiserate with them. I want them to know they are not alone – that they are not the only people in the world whose life has turned upside down or has lost all meaning. I want to express the love of Christ to them, and let them know that He sees it all and He cries with them or rejoices with them. I want to let them know that it is all okay: God has a plan for their lives and He will bring it to pass. God is able to bypass and overcome all of the obstacles the enemy of their souls has placed in their paths. God loves them and wants them to live the life of an abundant spirit – drinking in the goodness of each day and rejoicing in the smallest victories.

That’s my mission today – seeking out those for whom life has happened while they were making plans!

Did you ever play “follow the leader” as a child? We did but not very often and when we did play, the game often ended rather quickly. It seemed that everyone wanted to be the leader and no one wanted to follow! So we would take turns being the leader but even that didn’t work out well, because those who had already had a turn as leader were not interested in following anyone else. The memory of that game and the different way each child would react to being the leader and then to being the follower caused me to chuckle this afternoon.

I’ve discovered that most I’ve my life I’ve been watching people play ‘follow-the-leader’. And, most of my life I’ve been trying to get away from those who are power-hungry leaders who refuse to be a follower. Today I sense that my husband might just fall into that category. Why is it impossible for some people to follow? Do they really believe that their plans, purposes, and actions are so much better than anyone else’s?

I remember seeing a quip once that said “If you ain’t the lead dog, the view never changes.” Such a remark is meant to install the desire for leadership while at the same time denigrating all those who have not attained such a position, or have no desire to lead others. I’ve been blessed with both positions in my lifetime – leading and following – and each has its own merits and pitfalls. Leading carries an enormous amount of responsibility for the lives and well-being of others. Following can be fulfilling and rewarding or it can be soul-killing, depending upon who is doing the leading. Of the two positions, following is the most challenging.

A follower often has to swallow his pride and do that which he does not wish to do. Sometimes the follower may believe they know better and still have to do what is being directed. There may be punishment for not obeying or there may not be – again, depending upon the leader. On the bright side, followers usually know what the rules are and are able to function within the parameters established by the leader, whereas the leader oftentimes is blazing new trails and establishing ground rules as they go. I have never met a follower who didn’t, at one time or another, want to be the leader.

I confess that I struggle sometimes with following, particularly when my opinions are not only ignored but when I’m told to keep them to myself.

The greatest joy of my life, though, is being a follower of Jesus Christ. I love the way He leads. He always listens to my opinions, and even allows me to argue with Him. His direction is never harsh and the goal is always, ultimately, for my good. His ground rules are pretty simple and easy to remember: Love God with all your mind, heart, and soul and love others as you love yourself. Simple. Direct.

Now, I didn’t say following Jesus was the easiest thing I had ever done. In fact, sometimes it is downright HARD! It can be so hard to put aside our own desires in order to serve someone else who is attaining their heart’ desires. It can be hard to submit when we want to do something totally different. For some people, following Jesus means giving up their very lives – becoming martyrs for His name’s sake.

BUT, following Jesus is the most rewarding thing I have ever done and it gets better and better every day. It is wonderful to be loved the way Jesus loves me. It is wonderful to walk in peace, joy and love. It is wonderful to hear Him say “well done”. It is a joy to feel His pleasure.

I would not trade following Jesus for anything this life has to offer – even when following Jesus means letting go of my dreams in order to follow HIS!

Hearts break. Souls long for peace. Tears dry on weathered faces and for some, tears never come. Broken. Abused. Neglected. Scorned. Rejected. Disparaged. These are the pictures of the lost souls waiting for someone to introduce them to Jesus. These are the people who are overlooked and unappreciated. These are the people that the church claims to be searching for and rescuing. They are lost and need someone to help them find their way.

There are others that the church ignores and in some ways, the church is responsible for their pain. These are the ‘churched’ lost – the people sitting beside you in the pew with frozen smiles and responses of “I’m fine.” People who have been hurt within the church and so have moved to a new location but carry their wounds deep within. People who have been broken, abused, neglected, scorned, rejected and disparaged. In this group may be the holier-than-thou Pharisees of the modern-day church as well as those who are abused by the church system. This group contains people who have been sold the lie that Christians should not have troubles but should be bringing the Light to others. “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine ……”

How can anyone let their light shine when it has been extinguished by abuse, neglect, rejection and gossip? You’d be surprised.

I’ve seen people who place a false candle in their window and shine a fluorescent light instead of the light of Christ. (I’ve been one of those people.) Their smiles are big on Sunday morning, and their worship is robust – but it is all for show. They deflect any intrusion into their space with seemingly concerned inquiries into the lives of those who approach them. They are often seen as the ‘most compassionate’ and ‘most caring’ people in the church because they spend all of their energies covering up their problems and issues by throwing themselves into good works for others.

I’ve also seen good people ignore those who are so obviously hurting – walking right by them to get to their good friends and in the process causing even deeper wounds. I’ve watched as completely self-absorbed people are so busy broadcasting their latest successes (and failures) that they completely miss an opportunity to minister the love of Christ to one who is hanging onto life by a thread.

I’ve comforted the families of those who committed suicide, holding hands and praying, offering whatever comfort or service the Lord leads, while all the time painfully aware that the church let this one down. This believer couldn’t take it any longer and the church was too self-absorbed to even notice their pain.

Others might say that no one knows what is going on inside of another person so the church can’t be held responsible. I say hogwash! Those who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and in tune with His leading and guiding are MADE AWARE that there is a problem. They might not know to what extent there is a problem, but they know through the anointing of the Holy One that there is a problem.

When we are aware of such a circumstance we must never let go. We must never fall for the “I’m okay” or “I’m fine” response. We must surround such a one with love and arms of compassion and with the help of the Holy Spirit insinuate ourselves into their lives. We must be the hands and feet and heart of Jesus and help such a one find their way back.

I was once lost. I lost my compass. I knew I was lost but I didn’t know how to get back. I searched for the Lord but could not find Him. I never missed church and I was good at deflection and consequently the church never bothered with me. God finally called me back to Himself with fasting and I have been restored. But there were many times before that moment when I would have taken my life – gladly!

I am acutely aware of my own inadequacies and I am also aware of the greatness of our God. I have to trust that when He leads me to someone there is a reason and that reason may just be a rescue operation.

Today I challenge you to become a first responder – to listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit and follow Him into the trenches; to pray and ask Him to lead you to someone who needs help; and to be available to any who cross your path.

Sometimes, in the quiet stillness of early morning hours, memories from long ago surface to dance unbidden across my mind. I close my eyes and sink deeper into my favorite chair, letting the memories play out like an old-time video graph. Not so long ago I would have stifled the memory and deliberately pushed it away. Now, however, I welcome them as old friends, inviting them to expose the emotions that are associated with the memory. Perhaps with their surfacing the Lord is bringing some new insight.

The memories this morning are more like fast moving slide shows of the childhoods of my children. I watch their smiles and smile myself. Then a picture of a terror-filled face, and as I remember the event that precipitated that look I experience once again the sorrow, the pain, and that incredible Momma-bear feeling. Like all mothers, I wanted to protect my children from anything that would cause them pain. Instead, my life choices are the reason they experienced the pain.

I see before me my 9 year old son with tears streaming down his face as he clings to the telephone, speaking to the 911 operator. His father is commanding him to put down the telephone while he holds down and abuses my daughter across the room. I am clinging to his father’s back and screaming at him to stop and at my son ‘don’t hang up, don’t hang up’. What kind of parents leave these kinds of legacies to their children?

When I was a child, all I ever dreamed of was being a Mommy with lots of children. I didn’t have dreams of fancy homes or brilliant careers. I just wanted children. Lots of them. I dreamed of our happy family living on a farm with horses to ride and cows to milk and chickens for eggs, and all the loving days and just knew that was how life would be for me. It was not – and there is no way I can ever make it up to my children. I can never make this right. Even now I feel the ache within me for what they endured and I offer silent prayers to my Father to please, please heal them. Please God, make it all better for them.

I wish you knew my children. One girl, one boy. They are adults now and I am so proud of them. They are loving and kind, generous to a fault, and absolutely delightful to spend time with, and they both love Jesus. The greatest joy of my life is when we get together and just enjoy one another’s company, sometimes playing card games or just playing with the grandkids. We really don’t have to ‘do’ anything to have fun together. We just love each other and it is heaven to me.

Today the Father reminded me that He is holding them in His hand and I can let go. He has their past, He has their present, and He has their future. He is making a way for them and He is using their pasts to help others who have also suffered. He loves them more than I do and He will prevail. He reminded me, too, that He loves being with me just as much as I love being with them. I don’t have to do anything to entertain Him or make Him proud of me – He already is and His greatest joy is when we are together. What a wonderful Savior!

As I wipe away the last tears I realize that with the surfacing and processing if this memory my Wonderful Counselor has once again remade part of me. He has brought release to this area of my memories and it has now lost its power to hurt and control me. Thank you Jesus for loving me.

A friend of mine called me just a few minutes ago asking for prayer. She is an elderly woman well into her eighties and has been having some health issues recently. I have known this woman for about 15 years and in all that time she has relied totally upon the Lord when she has health problems. She tore her rotator cuff about eight years ago and refused surgery, insisting that God would heal her. She then began a course of self-prescribed physical therapy along with dietary supplements. It took some time – about a year, I think, but she was totally healed. No surgery and complete restoration of the use of that arm.

Her current issues are causing her to become fearful. I could hear it in her voice as she explained that she is beginning to confuse dreams with reality and sometimes doesn’t know which is which unless someone tells her. She doesn’t recognize her own son at times and calls him “that man downstairs” who is so rude to her and won’t take her where she wants to go. She is concerned that “they” are going to put her away someplace and she won’t be able to get out. She asked for prayer as she looks for a doctor to help with her situation.

My heart cries out for her – I have been in her place during the worst stages of MS and I know what she is going through. It is awful to not be able to trust your own mind and even worse when your own family is unsympathetic and impatient with you. I remember one instance when my husband was explaining something trivial from his day at work and I did not understand what he was talking about – it made no sense whatsoever, and the more I asked questions the angrier and more frustrated he became with me. Then my daughter stepped to my side and put her hand on my shoulder and said “It’s okay, Momma. It isn’t important.” Those simple words were like oil on troubled water. I ceased being anxious and confused and became peaceful and content with not knowing what he was talking about. There were other times when I would be talking and pointing to something, trying to speak the word that identified the item and another word would come out. I would shake my head “NO” and try again, and still the wrong word would come out. In my mind I knew what I was trying to say but my mouth was under some other control and the proper words simply would not come out. If it had not been for my children and their amazing unconditional, constant love during those awful days, I don’t think I would have made it. I’m sure my husband would have had me committed someplace.

Having been set free from the demon that plagued me during those awful months I am heartbroken to see anyone suffer a similar fate. Some will never escape from the depths into which they are sinking. I asked my friend today if she could identify what her problem was – did she know what was wrong? She got very quiet and then she said, “I just want to live in peace. I want peace in my house and in my life. I cannot fight any longer.” I felt a quickening when she said those words and I wondered if perhaps what was happening to her mind was her way of escaping from the turmoil of her life where she cares for a schizophrenic brother and a son with OCD. Perhaps, finally, she will have peace.

The human brain is an amazingly powerful entity in its own right. We think we are in control when, in actuality, our brain is doing its own thing most of the time. I have observed that as long as we are going along and not causing undue stress to our bodies and emotions, our mind will function in tandem with our will. However, our brain seems to take over and do its own thing for self-preservation when we seem unable to keep all of the balls juggling in the air. I have no formal education to explain such things but I have seen the results of stress and trauma on the human mind on many occasions and also have my own experiences. The brain wants the body to survive and will go to any lengths to insure that survival – even going so far as to go into hiding to escape the onslaught that is causing the stress/trauma.

Today I am praying for freedom for my friend and all of those like her who have reached the end of their rope; for all those whose minds are going or have gone into hiding; and for all those who are still hanging on for dear life to the end of the rope: May God throw you a life line!