Making Sense of Your Life

Take a moment and think of your life like a clothesline. Pin up pictures and thoughts and words, the story of who you have been, who you are, and who you are becoming. Is there a connecting strand?

Many of us struggle to see how the pieces of our lives fit together. When a new year comes around and we begin making resolutions, we remember how disjointed we are. We struggle to make sense of why our previous resolutions haven’t come to fruition in our lives.

Where Do We Begin?

As we make our New Year’s resolutions, we may struggle to know where to begin. How do we start to piece together our lives and understand the Great Story that we are a part of?

The Bible shows us a portrait of our origin, purpose, and destiny. It addresses the fundamental questions of life: Where did we come from? Who are we? Why are we here? What’s the problem? What’s the solution? How do we lead fruitful, flourishing lives in the midst of pain and suffering?

In looking at our clothesline of pictures, let’s pin up the First Story and see how it makes a way for the pieces of our own stories to fall into place.

In the Beginning

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1 NASB). The First Story begins with these words. It tells us that before there was something, there was Someone. Although we may wonder how God created the world, the Bible doesn’t begin there. Instead, the Bible begins with Who.

In Genesis 1, we discover that God is the sovereign Lord, the Creator of all things. The Bible is rooted in who God is. It starts with Him. But the amazing thing is, this self-sufficient God who already had perfect communion in His Triune nature chose to create us.

Genesis 2 gives us an intimate glimpse into the creation of humanity. It zooms in, showing how the sovereign God is also a covenantal God. He entered into relationship with us, forming us from the dust and making us in His image. It is being made in His image that gives us inherent dignity and worth. This is what shapes us and transforms us, giving us purpose and hope.

In the End

Knowing that, from the very beginning, we were created in God’s image gives us the foundation of our identity. It puts our story in its proper place, fitting every piece together.

The First Story causes us to remember that God is God and we are not. We are not the masters and makers of our own fate. It is easy to forget this, especially around New Year’s, amidst numerous hopes and fears and resolutions. But our transformation comes when we realize that God created us for Himself and draws us closer to Him.

In the end, we were made for relationship with this God. If we do not include Him in our stories, we are missing the critical link that fits the story together. After all, we see from the First Story that our call is to be rightly related to Him. In everything we do, we are called to bear the image of God. It is by remembering our beginnings and our relationship with God that we have the basis for a fruitful, flourishing life.

Copyright © 2019 Ken Boa, used with permission.