What Do You Stand For?

   Have you ever thought about how many assumptions you make in a day? Rather yet, have you thought about which of those assumptions shape the way you live your life? It’s not really something we’re asked to think about on a daily, or even weekly basis, but for the next few minutes, I invite you to. You see, the life we are living is full of questions that matter, but what matters to one person won’t always matter to the person standing next to them. That being said, it is important for us to ask ourselves philosophical questions in order to know what the ground we stand on looks like. For the sake of this semester, I, along with my other classmates, will be looking into two perennial questions: 1) “Who is writing the script of my life?” and 2) “Who’s to say what’s right?” Now as you can see, these are no easy questions. In fact, many people dedicate their lives trying to find the answers and for the next few months (and maybe even a lifetime), I am dedicated to doing the same. Here is where the journey begins.

    As mentioned before, everyone has assumptions; some of which even impact the way we portray ourselves to people. There is no denying that what I assume to be true for the questions above are part of what make me who I am today. Even as a child, I had this strange, yet really neat relationship with my faith that my parents recognized at a young age. For as long as I can remember, I have believed that there is something bigger than myself and that that power lies in the fatherly hands of God. That being said, when thinking on who is writing the script of my life, it seems natural to say that it certainly is not in my own hands. There have been seasons of my life where I have tried with all my might to control certain circumstances and relationships, but over and over again, my plans fail. Based on this alone combined with the intricacies and beauties of human life, I have a hard time believing that God isn’t in control. Of course there are days, even months, where I struggle to loosen my grip on the pen and surrender it to Him, but that doesn’t mean He’s not there. So for the sake of this first question, I can wholeheartedly say that I assume my Father in Heaven has written out the life that lies before me.

    Moving on to the next question, I have to admit that I have a bit more trouble processing this one. While neither questions are cut nor dry, this one seems a bit more ambiguous to me and it appears that the world would agree. We live in a very interesting time where people are quick to shout out the gospel for inspiration, but are just as quick to turn a blind eye on what they do not agree with. Whether this is a reflection of our broken generation or humanness, I’m not quite sure, but I do think the Bible lays out a pretty straightforward path of what is right and wrong. While some could argue that the Bible was written in a time very different from our own, I do think its message is timeless, not to mention it is the only document I know to give a universal account of what is moral and what is not. That being said, I am looking forward to delving into these questions further over the next few months and in the end, it is my hope to have a stronger connection to who I am and what I stand for.