I began work as your Executive Minister, just over a year
ago, and last week was the one-year anniversary of our moving into our house
here. In the shadow of these mile
markers, I have been giving some thought to the past year and how we ended up
here.
My mother–in-law is prone to say when reflecting upon life
that “things just work out.” If you
know her, you know that she doesn’t mean exactly what she is saying; there is a
subtext. She is a person of abiding
Christian faith who knows most of the stories in the Bible and can actually
tell you where to find them—book and chapter.
So when she comments “things just work,” you know she is not saying that
we are simply victims of the vagaries of historical accident. Someone is working them out; that is
what she means. She sees the hand of
God in the daily rhythm of our days. As
I look over the past year in the life of the Kelsey family, I have to say: “Things
just work out.” I believe that God
brought us to New York. This is not simply
good fortune, a lucky break. God has
planted us here. Thus we are stewards
of the opportunities and life that we have found in this place.
Don’t take this too far, I don’t believe everything that
happens in the world is God’s will.
Paul wrote: And we know that in all things God works for the good of
those who love him (Romans 8:28).
This does not necessarily mean that God causes all things or that God
wills all things. It does mean that God
can redeem all things to serve some good purpose. A good bit of what happens in this world can be chalked up to
human beings making poor choices. We
broke the world a long time ago, and some day will set aright anew. For now it is something less than what God
wills. Jesus warned us to be careful
about drawing too direct a line between what happens in this world and the
guilt of those to whom it happens (Luke 13:1-5).
There are times, however, when we sense that God has been at
work in some particular way in some particular place at some particular time. I feel that as I look over the last
year. Our lives are held in the hands
of a loving God. I am so convinced of
this.
Things just work out.
We say that with a knowing nod because we believe that there is One who
is working out some of those things in our lives.
Blessings,
Jim
