Destiny?

While driving to St. Paul's today, I heard a radio ad for a preacher named Joel Osteen. I think his wife--who is also a clergy person--was featured in the ad, too. The tagline of the ad was, "Everything you need to fulfill your destiny is at hand and available to you right now!" The ad went on to invite people to tune in their glitzy TV presentation of this "exciting new teaching series." I've seen the Osteens, and they don't do anything for me. I think these are the people who live in a multi-million dollar mansion and fly in a private jet to their engagements. It's a bit much for people who claim to be calling folk to faith in a carpenter from Nazareth who "had no where to lay his head" when he walked the earth. I have long been a student of great preaching down through the history of the church, and while some sermons I have heard or read were like a fine Merlot or a cup of perfectly-brewed Kona, this Osteen stuff is banana Fizzies. But I digress...

It's the word destiny that caught my attention. Do we really have a destiny? Webster's defines destiny as "the hidden power believed to control what will happen in the future--fate." Some view destiny as a preprogramed path for our life that is our job to discover and be in the right place and the right time to fulfill. (Apparently, the Osteens believe they have a verbal elixir that will make this happen for you.) Many Christian believers hold that God is the "hidden power" that controls what will happen in the future, and that belief is even reduced to where God has a "will" for every element of our personal lives, including what kind of car we should drive and who we should hang out with. I'm not there, friends.

I believe God to be a "big picture" deity when it comes to running the world, and one who calls me to fit into that picture, but more like a chip in a kaleidoscope than a specific piece of a picture puzzle. I know God loves you and me--that is what Jesus was (and certainly IS) all about. But does God have one, singular and "necessary" will for our lives? I don't see it. I love my children more than I can express in thousands of words and in a lifetime of relating to them, and in that love, the last thing I ever wanted to do was control their lives. Oh, I did my job as parent when they were young, providing boundaries to keep them safe, and opportunities to broadly experience life, the universe, and everything so they could decide what they wanted to do with their earthly days, but I never wanted to control them, prescribe their paths, or limit their possibilities, and I happen to believe that God is the greatest parent of them all! When Jesus said he wanted us to have an abundant life, I think he meant a fulfilling, deeply personal, yet respectful of others life, and one fully engaged in all of the pursuits we find interesting, stimulating and meaningful. And this abundant life would be one only complete when we aided in assuring that all of God's children had an equal chance at the same life. The abundant life Jesus talked about was never--ever a "zero-sum game" where, in order for me to "get mine," you couldn't "have yours."

God, like any great parent, doesn't want to steal away the "free will" with which we were created. There is no prescribed destiny or mandated path for any of us--just an incredible, unfolding "big picture" of a "kingdom" or "realm" being born into our world, and we have the freedom to participate in its revealing! That is the message of the Bible and of Jesus, as I see it. Don't waste your time looking for some "blueprint" of "God's will" for your life (destiny). Instead, seek the Spirit's wisdom and guidance as you explore what life is for you, how you may relate lovingly with others, and how together these pursuits may lead to abundance.

I'm a Wesleyan, at heart, meaning I appreciate and try to emulate John Wesley's understanding of the Christian gospel. Wesley was a "free will," not a destiny guy. Wesley developed the biblical and intellectual tools to fully engage life, and then set out to help others do the same. His journey to find his path was not without its potholes and barriers along the way, but he persisted. I think persisting is a good thing. Persisting is a much more biblical understanding of God, spirituality, and redemption than most of the junk I hear coming from TV preachers and "Christian" self-help books today. If I persist in finding my direction, growing in my faith, and in discovering new ways to relate to others on their journey, and not just to appreciate, but to work synergistically alongside them, I will find little time to judge others or to draw boundaries as to who's included and who is not in the coming Realm of God.

However, if I bow to the temptation to believe that there is some prescribed destiny for my life, I think I would become totally self-absorbed. That can't be good. Maybe I'd end up living in a multi-million dollar mansion and flying in my own plane, telling others to send me their money so they can find their destiny, too? No, I'm having such a blast doing this persisting stuff that I have to believe the destiny-seekers are going to find an empty well at the end of their quest. Years ago, an author I was reading said, the journey is our home. I like that. What is prescribed for us is our destination. Our loving God will receive us into our final home. But this life--this is where we get to explore and shine, and make something of our days that any great parent would be proud of! Destiny? Fugetaboutit!