Life Through the Lens: Life-lines
In his regular Christian column, Kevin Schrapel ponders the lines our lives follow, and what happens when our best intentions turn to ink-blots.
Lines are exciting things.
They can be thick or thin, or go from thin to thick and back, all to be part of the design of the line’s creator.
Think about it: we have power lines, railway lines, lines on roads, brickies’ lines, water lines and lines drawn by architects, engineers, artists and garden planners.
It is hard to think of anything made or designed by people that didn’t involve one or more lines at some stage.
Lines can be straight, the front can catch up with the back and become a circle, and they can designate angles or wander and become doodles.
From our births, I believe God has a plan for how each of our life-lines will appear: life-lines planned out of love and not in the controlling, slavish way we draw lines.
In his book of words, the Bible, he tells us: “I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you … plans for peace and wellbeing and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).
Our life-lines were designed in love to create beauty, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in our own lives and the lives of others when, in care and love, we join our lines to theirs.
Sometimes we might decide to draw our line where we want it to go, then find it ends up in a sort of ink-smudged blob.
When that happens, God’s love for you can become real if you let it.
He has been following your line all the time.
Now he says, “Here, why don’t you let me get rid of that mess?”
“My son Jesus died – it’s called sacrifice – so any unsightly, life-smudging blobs can be got rid of forever, as far as the eastern horizon is from the west” (Psalm 103:12).
God’s love for all people is so great.
He doesn’t just get rid of the life-smudging blobs and leave us to get on as best we can.
He says, “Here, let us start a new line together.”
“If you only trust me, I will guide you so your life gets back on track,” (Psalm 32:8), and your life-line will make the wonderful, exciting pictures I have always had in my mind for you.
Your life-line pictures will also impact and help others with their life-lines.
Not sure?
Who knows what designs you might make through this world together?
He does!
Talk to him about it.
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