And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, (Rom. 8:28 ESV)
I think I might be a humanist.
Don’t worry, I don’t mean the kind of humanist that has come to mean choosing the ‘human’ side in the ‘humanity-divine’ debate.
I mean that I choose the ‘personal’ side in the ‘personal-event’ debate. I deny that events have more power than a person. I deny that events force us to do something, be someone, or respond sometime.
My joy comes from how we choose to perceive what is happening.
Bad things happen all around us. Difficult days are common. Tragedies, accidents, and troubles abound. But it is up to us to choose how we will respond.
I am not suggesting we imitate a silly Pollyanna. “Yay! That lightning just hit my house and burned it down! Yippee!” I am not suggesting we deny that problems are problems. “Wow! This broken neck of mine sure is super-duper!” I am not suggesting that we ignore our sufferings. “What flood in the basement? I don’t see any water!”
I am instead suggesting that we see events in a Biblical perspective.
Realizing that God is God, we can trust that even the hardest of days, the worst pains, the scariest of moments are somehow something that God is doing because He loves us.
Maybe humanist isn’t the best word to describe this attitude. Or maybe I am trying to reclaim a good word with good meaning.
But events don’t make you. You choose what effect they have on you. People (humans) win in the personal-event debate.
Go, Humans!