As I rode into Harrisburg yesterday morning I cycled past the Youth Prison located there. This isn't a summer camp; it isn't a boarding school; it's a holding place for some really mean kids. These kids will hurt you if they have the opportunity and need to be kept away from the rest of us. But as I saw the sun coming up over the prison and thought about the kids there, I felt a little conflicted.
I believe that your choices determine the trajectory of your life. Every day, each of us are presented with opportunities to do good or evil. We can save life or take it. Wisdom is available for those who will pursue her - Foolishness is not far behind as well. We are today, what we have chosen to be. We are today, where we have chosen to be.
I also believe that your birth circumstances determine the trajectory of your life. As is said, "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree". While it's possible through the help of a mentor to rise above the people who populate your family tree, it's unlikely in the long run. Your values and perspective are genetic qualities that you will have difficulty shaking.
But there is an unseen hand at work in your destiny as well. Ultimately, God is sovereign. His will determines the trajectory of your life. We must acknowledge that His decisions are the final ones. You have freedom to choose within the limits of choices that He has predetermined for you.
Somehow, in some way not clear to me, those three lines intersect at some point and THAT is your destiny.
You cannot choose your birth circumstances. (Although those of you who are unmarried or without children at this point CAN choose half of the genetic destiny for your children if you choose a mate wisely.) You cannot choose the will of God for your life. The only choices that are available for you are the choices you make every day. When my children were at home, I always chose to trust them and sent them off with these words, "Do what you know is right". Sometimes they did. Many times they didn't. Their choices, as well as my own will determine where that third trajectory intersects the other two and determines their destiny.
Much of your life has already been written for you. You have the ability to fill in those things left blank. Choose today whom you will serve. Choose a chosen destiny.
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