What was God thinking...

At yesterday's meeting of Good to Great Dads at our church, one of the speakers said that God's interest isn't in accountability; rather, it's in our healing and transformation. He wants us to be all that he had in mind for us.

Our speaker then asked the question: "What was God thinking of, when he thought of you?" Put differently, "What did God have in mind when he decided to make you?"

I don't know what the specific answer is for you, but I do know this: He had something marvelous and wonderful in mind, and two things in particular:

• To show the riches of his grace in kindness toward you in Christ (Ephesians 2:6-7)
• To bless the world through you (Ephesians 2:10)

What would this look like? It depends on your gifting, the people you're in contact with, and other circumstances you're in. To discover the answer may involve prayer and solitude and community.

So I don't have anything profound to say about that -- I just liked our speaker's question and wanted to share it with you. Because God really did have something wonderful in mind when he thought of you. (Oh, and please think prospectively, about that -- you know, "today is the first day of the rest of your life", not "oh, crap, God had this great idea for me and I've so far wasted however many decades not being that." See Philippians 3:13)

Because essence precedes existence

There are some people who claim that existence precedes essence for human beings. That is, we show up (existence) first, then we define ourselves (essence) later. You can believe that if you want, but you'll be disagreeing with Psalm 139 at least:

For you created my inmost being;
     you knit me together in my mother's womb. 
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
     your works are wonderful,
     I know that full well. 
My frame was not hidden from you
     when I was made in the secret place. 
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
     your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
     were written in your book
     before one of them came to be. 

and also the Apostle Paul: "...even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world..." (Ephesians 1:4).

So if you're imagining what God was thinking of when he thought of you, I'm here to tell you that you're wondering about something that actually happened! God really did think of you and he really did have something marvelous and wonderful in mind when he did that.