The Book's Purpose

• Recognize God intervenes in each person’s life
• Explore some of the ways that God reveals His calling and purpose to individuals
• Understand God has a divine plan to accomplish His work

The Book's Message

The intervention of God in the lives of individuals is not a simple thing, and He weaves every event of our lives into something that displays His work in a beautiful way. Each person is unique and has a specific calling on his or her life. God wants us to know that purpose as we come to realize He has a design and a plan for fulfilling His work. He is the Grand Weaver that pulls each thread into a work of art that displays His craftsmanship in a powerful way.

Your DNA Matters

My father-in-law passed away just before I began writing this book. Five months prior to his death, he had an odd feeling in his lower back that intensified after a few days. After several tests were run, the doctors revealed he had a fast-growing tumor and the prognosis was bleak. Emotions in the family were heavy during this time as his daughters and wife cared for him every moment. The days became more difficult until they finally saw him take the last breath. I start with this story because those last days revealed every side of his personality. He was facing both great fears and great hopes. Everything in his life had been organized and detailed until his unplanned death. We long for some sense in the odd mixture of order and surprise, wanting to detect that an intentional pattern has been woven. We wonder how we can see a divine intersecting of wounding tragedies and great delights. Is there really a convergence of everything to a grand design that we can see? If able, many of us would have chosen a different body or face or features. In a world giving importance to “perfect” bodies, some people question how they got their own bodies in the first place. Many fictional authors have even written about being able to make a body invisible through something like a cloak or a ring. However, a body is important as it is used to mark identity and individuality. We are recognized from our features that stem from our DNA. It is God’s imprint. While speaking at a conference at Johns Hopkins University on the theme of what it means to be human, I attended a talk by the director of the Human Genome Project and co-mapper of human DNA, Francis Collins. Toward the end of his lecture, he showed two pictures next to one another. One was of a stained-glass rose window in Yorkshire Cathedral and the other was of a cross section of a strand of human DNA. They almost mirrored one another.

“The intricacy of the DNA’s design, which pointed to the Transcendent One, astonished those who are themselves the design and who have been created semitranscendent by design. We see ourselves only partially, but through our Creator’s eyes, we see our transcendence. In looking at our DNA, the subject and the object came together.”

Earlier, I mentioned my father-in-law, and I want to share something remarkable that happened at his death. His body was losing strength, and he was no longer able to communicate with us. However, at one point he opened his eyes, clearly stating twice, “Amazing! It’s just amazing!” and his final words were “I love you!” to his wife. He was gone within twentyfour hours, and that was the end. Perhaps, though, it was the beginning. It is really neither when you know the Grand Weaver. My father-in-law was about to see and forever enjoy the design for which his death had been a punctuation mark.

Your Disappointments Matter

Several years ago, I found myself hurrying to my wife’s office after my assistant told me she wanted to see me. Upon entering, I learned that our good friend, Robert Fraley, had died in a plane crash. He was a gracious and generous man. Many at his funeral testified to these qualities and felt shattered by the loss of his young life.

In the midst of tragic events, one cannot help but question why many destructive individuals enjoy a long life, while many selfless others, who are striving to serve God, are taken too soon. “The problem of pain has remained the single greatest question, not only for the skeptic who uses it as an excuse to doubt God’s existence, but also for the believer who questions God’s purpose.” Over time, I have learned that, like despair, pain comes in different measures rather than in one expression or package. It manifests itself in a unique way for each person, and no one is spared in the process. We assume no one else has experienced our pain as we endure the blows. We wonder where the work of God is in it all.

I believe that the journey to seeing His hand in the disappointments of life requires three distinct steps. It begins by involving the heart. God is the shaper of the heart; at the end of a person’s life, his heart will be found in one of three conditions.

The mind is involved in the second step. The brain relates to the body in the same way the mind relates to the soul. Fragments of information are pieced together in the mind and patterns are organized. “Faith is a thing of the mind.” God has designed life in such a way that we must be willing to trust further than ourselves. A blessed life is a life of simple trust.

The final step fits into this discussion and involves the cross. All of the world’s suffering came together at Calvary in one act of sacrifice from Christ, who took on sin’s penalty and ultimate suffering~including being separated from his Father~in order that we might have a chance to be close to Him. The world of pain must be seen through Jesus’ eyes. He understands it as brokenness and separation rather than just pain. Paul mentions having the mind of Christ several times, and references to our Lord’s sacrifice often accompany these passages.

When all the steps come together, we see God’s pattern, and we are able to console others who are hurting. As you work through your disappointments, the most important thread is having your heart and mind consider and grasp what the cross of Jesus Christ is fully about. Without the cross, there is no pattern or good news, and this is what the gospel is about.

Your Calling Matters

We are all looking for success. Consider the many sections in our bookstores that promote materials on selecting a career and finding motivation. Being number one seems the only way to measure our success. However, it’s just not possible for everyone to be number one, and the drive to be the best often destroys a person in the process as true fulfillment is never delivered.

Dream careers and accomplishments won’t always produce happiness. Knowing God’s place for you and serving Him with your best effort really is the way to make it to number one. Finding the threads God has arranged for you and pursuing His path with excellence is the goal, then.

A call may not lure you but it will pull on your soul in a way you can’t escape, even if the cost of following is high. It is more than beckoning. “It is God’s vital purpose in positioning you in life and giving you the vocation and context of your call to serve Him with a total commitment to do the job well.”

Often, one only sees a call in retrospect. An example of this is seen in Exodus 3 when God calls Moses, and he questions how he will know it is God calling him. The Lord says in verse 12 that it will be “after you have entered the land, you will know that it is I who has called you.” As we respond to His nod, God will reinforce His call. We would tend to act out on the basis of pragmatism and self-love, not needing faith, if we could see the final design. Instead, God often strengthens our faith after we trust Him.

In addition, every calling is a sacred call as long as it honors God’s purpose for life. In I Peter 2:9, God calls us “a kingdom of priests” (NLT). Because of this title, there cannot be a “sacred” or “secular” distinction. The opposite of sacred is profane, not secular. We all have a sacred calling, and no one who follows Christ does secular work.

“God is the author of my call. He has the plan in mind, and I must respond to His nod. Take the thread of wanting to serve wherever He wants you and add it to the mix. The design will thrill you one day.”

Your Morality Matters

Moral framework is the fundamental difference between a naturalistic and a religious worldview. A naturalist may choose to be moral, but there is no reason for him or her to not be amoral. Reason does not have any command here. In the realm of religion, the debate stands on rational ground, and it is important to understand similarities and differences in religions. Morality is a means of attainment in every religion except Christianity.

We see evidence of this in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. But Judaism and Christianity are distinctly different. Both recognize that man cannot get back into a right relationship with God through any amount of moral capacity. “God is the author of moral boundaries, not man and not culture.” The Christian faith reminds us that our problem is spiritual not moral.

Looking at religious history, we can see the basis of laws that have stood the test of time. Some instances are the Code of Hammurabi in 2500 BC, the Laws of Manu 1,000 years later, the teachings of Buddha, and Muhammad’s “five pillars” of Islam.

In contrast, the Hebrews received the Ten Commandments 14 centuries before Christ with an introduction that says, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:2-3). A clue to other legal systems can be seen but the Hebrew-Christian worldview stands out.

Another key difference between religious systems is that moral laws in other legal codes separate people, while the Hebrew-Christian law unifies people. The first four of the Ten Commandments are about our worship of God, while the last six are about ways we need to treat fellow human beings. Through the Ten Commandments, we see the transcending reality of the existence of God and the distance between Him and mankind.

We must understand this difference along with who God is. We must see our need for redemption before we can understand the truth about morality.

Your Spirituality Matters

There are two parts to the emerging reality. First, human beings are terminally religious, wanting to worship or create items of worship. Second, we need to know if the objects of our worship actually deserve our worship and have the characteristics we attribute to them. It is an ageold quest in which we keep hoping something new will be better than something old. Skeptics say religion is sometimes born out of fear and superstition, and they are partly right. We must ask ourselves how to counter the charge and keep ourselves from pursuing spirituality for its own sake. Jesus confronted three types of spirituality: traditionalism, legalism, and superstition.

Traditionalism

A traditionalist reveres sects and groups that set up their traditions around laws and sayings. They have their own regulations of conduct that only weigh people down. “Over the centuries, spiritual ceremony quickly becomes more important than what it facilitates. We cannot help but wonder why intelligent people do not seem to question its basis in truth.”

Jesus regularly questioned ceremonies and rote sacrifices as did prophets in the Old Testament such as Micah and Habakkuk. The terrifying events of 2 Kings 21:1-6 led to self-destruction as Manasseh sacrificed his own son through the ceremonies and altars he had established. Ceremony and rituals based on falsehood can be used by the enemy of our souls to control us and bind us to errors.

Legalism

Another type of spirituality Jesus challenged was legalism, or “strict conformity to a religious or moral code.” Sometimes we think keeping a law perfectly will keep us from the wrath of God. Jesus came across many individuals who utilized the law to condemn others and never saw the reasoning behind the law.

Superstition

In addition, Jesus confronted superstition and used His strongest words for those who desired to mark spirituality on the basis of appearance, tradition, and ceremony. He compared them to cups that looked clean but were dirty inside and to whitewashed tombs containing death and decay. Jesus used this intense language because he viewed this false spirituality and man’s reliance on his own efforts as serious problems.

There are many variations of spirituality in our present day, and it has become a commendable thing to say one believes in spirituality. Unfortunately, two untruths get mixed into this kind of talk. The first is that only belief matters, not truth; the second is that being spiritual must be linked to being Eastern. Spiritual seduction bargains away the soul~it is the most fatal of all seductions. All our lives have the threads of spirituality running through them.

The most important thread is truth, and every society needs truth to survive. But how do we find the thread of truth? By looking at Jesus Christ, the one who claimed to be the Truth. John 1:14 tells us He “became flesh and made his dwelling among us … full of grace and truth.” Jesus is the most important thread holding everything else together.

“Spirituality does not give relevance to life; rather, truth gives relevance to spirituality. You must not dare to get sidetracked with ceremony or legalism! Your spirituality must be born of the truth and lived out in grace.”

Your Will Matters

Our society is often unsuccessful at dealing with the area of the will. Why do we refuse to face it? Mostly because it is difficult and relentless. The victory of yesterday does not guarantee one tomorrow. The enemy of our souls is persistent, and we must be watchful for him. We desire positive outcome without work. God has placed tremendous potential within human power. The potential God has placed within human power can be unlocked by certain keys. This human will brings humility if understood correctly but arrogance if it is misunderstood. Three passages in the Bible demonstrate these possibilities.

After crossing the Jordan, the Israelites came in contact with many foreign gods. In his farewell address to the people, Joshua reminds them of all God has done for them, including guarding generations, bringing deliverance, and providing protection. He tells them in Joshua 24:15 to “choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.” It was obvious that the choice of service to God was in the will of the people. It was within the context of God’s work and choice to bless them.

He leads us to a place of choosing, leaving signs of His love, and works with infinite patience rather than using a sledgehammer approach.

“But this major step of making a choice to follow God entails one nonnegotiable commitment: to recognize the mission of your life not so much as a profession but as a measuring stick by which you will gauge your progress for life itself. Out of this emerges a commitment that your life express total submission to God’s will.”

The next example is found in Acts 22 where Paul recalls God’s work in his life while he is recovering from blindness. Ananias says to him in Acts 22:14, “The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth.” His encounter came with a specific “see and hear.”

The same type of clear instruction is seen in John 20 in the story of Thomas, where he is told to see, hear, and touch the risen Lord. In each of these occasions, we notice a voice, presence, and direction. We do not touch, see, and feel God. His voice is not audible, as a general rule. His voice is often heard through the written Word, and it must consistently be met with “doing.” The word “do” is often paired with “the will of God” in Scripture.

The third scene is from Jeremiah 35. God instructs Jeremiah to offer wine to the Recabites. He obeys but notices his guests are uncomfortable with his offer. The leader of the group tells him they have not touched wine for many generations. By way of explanation, God tells Jeremiah that He wanted Jeremiah to see an example of a people who had obeyed their earthly father’s command~that after speaking to His people again and again, they had not obeyed and had even made excuses for not serving their heavenly Father. The point is made that we are able to exert our wills with what we have determined in our minds to do. We can see this by observing those who follow earthly leaders.

“Our will has no power to do God’s will until it first dies to its own desires and the Holy Spirit brings a fresh power within.” I remember the first sermon I ever preached. Moments before starting, I fell on my knees, asking God to help me not pass out from fear, and when I stood up, it was as though another power and voice had taken control. My second time preaching left me with no doubt that a greater power than myself was making God’s message known and working out His will. When your will submits to God’s will and works under His will, you will be a changed person before people.

“Out of these experiences, I developed what I call ‘the ABCDs of a willful walk with the Lord’:”

And, heed this one major warning: “The more one surrenders convictions and neglects discipline, the more one gradually changes one’s own hungers and desires.” When David was battling the Philistines, he longed for a drink from the well in Bethlehem. Several of his warriors risked their lives to reach the well and brought some water back for him. When they brought it to David, he poured it out onto the ground, saying he could not take a gift that put the lives of others in danger just to bring him delight, and the soldiers were speechless. What might have happened if David had made this kind of choice with Bathsheba? Unfortunately, his will failed him that time, resulting in disastrous consequences.

Your Worship Matters

All the rest of the threads in the design of our lives are bound by the thread of worship. If this thread goes missing, we cannot see the pattern. The whole design falls apart if it breaks. If this thread is missing, nothing keeps the design together when it’s under strain from tension.

There are several words in the Bible to describe worship. The two primary terms are “to serve” and “to bow down.” Only once do these two appear in the same verse~Matthew 4:10, which says, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written; ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’ ” In a simple phrase, worship means “reverence and action.” Three principle truths come together in worship: mystery, community, and liturgy.

“What is the mystery so inherent in Christian worship? I believe it is the worship of the holy Trinity in the reverential taking of the elements of the Lord’s supper ... God is Trinity ~three Persons in one essence ... In three dimensions you get objects. With the dimensions of the eternal and the infinite and the uncaused, to conceive of God as one essence and three persons is not unfathomable. It legitimately stays within the realm of mystery.” It also points to the reality that unity and diversity are found in created order because unity and diversity are seeing the community of the Trinity.

In the Early Church, the believers shared everything and held all things together according to Acts 2:44, but this type of community did not last. Insensitivity and jealousy took over, and they began dividing, comparing, and showing feelings of superiority over each other. Diversity is not left out of “communion” and “community.” As in the Godhead, diversity is acknowledged and appreciated. However, the diversities come together because they all hold in common “the worship of the triune God and the shared meanings of the family of God.”

In the liturgy of worship, the five main components of worship found in the book of Acts are the Lord’s Supper, teaching, prayer, praise, and giving.

Your Destiny Matters

When we consider destiny, we make an error in believing it only has to do with death or what occurs after death. It encompasses far more. Destiny is the culmination of all that life was, along with how a person prepares for death, whether it comes early or many years later. Destiny incorporates the sense of purpose and design when it lies in the hands of a sovereign God. People reacted in different ways to the risen Jesus. He appeared to His disciples in John 20, greeting them with a blessing of peace and commissioning them to go and tell others He is alive. Thomas was missing from this event, and the disciples quickly told him what happened when Jesus visited. He responded by saying, “I will not believe it unless I can see Jesus for myself and touch the marks of the nails in his hands and the wound in his side.” Jesus came again a week later when Thomas was present, telling him, “Put your finger here; see My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe” (John 20:27).

We long for the sense of touch more than all the other sensitivities. Feeling is one of the most important abilities, both in the physical and emotional realm. “Everything I experience and feel before I arrive at that heavenly home amounts to mere analogy. Everything in my heavenly home is consummate expression.”

In The Weight of Glory, C. S. Lewis reflects on the strange longing we have for our eternal home, even though we have a “certain shyness” about it. He compares this to the hinting of something else inside ourselves to the surprise we feel about time passing, even though time is part of our experience.

We deem items such as shelters, tombs, and gravestones as important, but God’s destiny for us does away with these things. In the final time, “our identities will be with God, and our personalities will be ‘sublimely consummated’ ” to His intention for every one of us. Our transition from earth to heaven will be the thread that binds our memories together with reality and will allow us “to see the temporal in the light of the eternal.”

“The design is beautiful. The promise is sure. The end result is profound. The answers will all be there. But the condition is clear: we must search for God with all our hearts. And when you are about to walk into eternity, may you also be able to say, as did my father-in-law, “Amazing! It’s just amazing!”