Today’s challenges are initiating us for tomorrow’s responsibilities. And in this way all of life can be seen as a type of initiation. While not pleasant at the time, we don’t lose heart – trusting God is preparing us for greater work and glory in his kingdom.
At its best, school is to help shape our hearts and minds into mature and fruitful men – contributing to the wellbeing of our communities. As such, it can be seen as a type of prolonged initiation into our adulthood. This is not about the mastery of a particular skill per se, but the formation of our character and soul, which is not something that can be done in short order.
And this is a good perspective to bring to the rest of life. All of life becomes God’s school to train and prepare us to reign well in his kingdom. And this kingdom perspective gives us greater peace as we navigate the ups and downs that come our way.
For instance, perhaps we don’t get our dream job right out of college, the woman we thought we were going to marry breaks our heart and leaves, and the work that we’ve been called to do doesn’t earn enough to keep food on the table for our growing family. Whatever it looks like, life is filled with many challenging situations. But instead of growing hardhearted and bitter, we can see how God might be using these circumstances to anchor our hope, exercise our faith, and refine our practice of love. In short, we’re being initiated through the hardships we face.
And, having been initiated, we’re now better equipped to make an impact for good throughout our life and relationships. We’ve become the men that God can trust with freedom, power, and the tender heart of others.
In the end, God is preparing you for your future work and glory. Learn to see all of life as his process of initiation.
Photo by Royal Anwar AsifAli Transcendur Transcendence on Unsplash
