Since childhood we’ve been taught to believe in ourselves and to forge our own path in life. And the implicit assumption was that if we could just free ourselves from the traditions and constraints imposed on us then we could finally soar to the heights of our potential. But this in reality has led us to becoming unmoored – disconnected from what is true, good, and beautiful.
It’s true insecurities, doubts, and fears hold many of us back from pursuing our potential. And we do need the courage to rise to the occasion and creatively offer our unique strength to the world. God is not a cookie-cutter creator, and gave us each our own fingerprint and glory to bring to his story.
And this is the key. We’re living in a story – a larger reality not of our own making. To deny this and expect any meaningful progress is like expecting a tree to grow without roots. The roots allow the tree to grow, and the deeper the roots the higher the tree can soar.
In the same way, our growth requires us to remain anchored in a reality beyond ourselves. Or, said another way, our vision must remain fixed on Jesus Christ himself. He is the center of everything, our true north that frees us to explore and discover our unique path in life. And without this center we would just drift aimlessly.
As it has been said: there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Restricting oneself to the design of the wheel is not blindly holding on to old traditions, rather it opens the door for endless creativity in designing vehicles and the like. And the same is true of marriage and sexuality, friendship, work, and our community life. There are basic design principles that are true and good. And as we align ourselves with them we’re then truly free to creatively express ourselves and reach our potential.
In the end, it’s okay to follow your inner light provided it ultimately abides in God’s reality. True freedom and joy comes through our surrender to his story – discovering our uniqueness by keeping our eyes fixed on Christ. We become unmoored and life full of chaos otherwise.
Photo by Kevin Charit on Unsplash
