This weekend I am privileged to attend the first “Meet the Author” event in Historic Rugby, Tennessee, which features Paul Young, author of THE SHACK and several other books. In the morning coffee session, Paul made mention of the fact that, “We are playing checkers while God is playing three dimensional chess!” He went on to say that what we do seems so insignificant, yet in God’s overall plan we have no idea the impact we have on the people around us and the history of the world. Our seemingly insignificant acts of love and kindness continue so far beyond us that we have no concept of how important they are. His account of how THE SHACK came into being is an illustration. He originally wrote the book for his children to record his pilgrimage. He had 15 copies made at Office Max which he distributed to his children and friends, with no intention of having it published or marketed. He said, “Those 15 copies did what I wanted the book to do; I didn’t expect it to go any further.” Through some miraculous events the manuscript fell into the right hands and it is now an international phenomenon. Paul is such a real person who has already had a great impact on me after just one session. What he says is so true; we have no idea the impact we have on others.
This leads me to the question, “Are the things that happen just coincidence, or is God at work in our everyday lives to accomplish His master plan? Can God use our insignificant acts of kindness to meet needs that we are not aware of at the time?” I think of the students that I have taught over the years with whom I still maintain contact. They have shared things with me that they remember me saying or doing that I don’t even remember! Yet, these words or acts of kindness caused their lives to be better or made them think about things they would not have thought of otherwise. Some of these students are now impacting the lives of others through their chosen professions. I think of my “resident Republican” student that sat in my junior English class, challenging everything John Steinbeck advocated in THE GRAPES OF WRATH. She is now a legal advocate for the poor, helping them get assistance that they would not otherwise be able to receive. Another of my students is now a teacher in a private school, teaching English and Social Studies after having obtained a dual degree in Law and Divinity from Duke University. I have numerous public educators who, as I did, do their everyday tasks in an unknown place with students who will some day impact the world by remembering this teacher who believed in them and changed their lives. So in these and others God is achieving His goal of creating a loving atmosphere in which people can thrive.
I don’t think that God has programmed us like robots nor that we are manipulated without any choice in the matter. I do believe, however, that God works within the lives of people who allow Him to and accomplishes unbelievable things through their seemingly mundane insignificance. I am thankful to a God who has an overall plan, much like the accomplished chess champion, when I am playing the simple game of checkers, looking at one move at a time. Through the choices I make, God incorporates my actions into a bigger plan that impacts those around me and the world. In my own simplicity God transforms my loving acts and words into miracles in the lives of others. I am reminded of the Apostle Paul’s words in Ephesians 3:20, when he says, “Now to him by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine.” It happened in Paul Young’s experience in writing THE SHACK, and I am convinced it happens in all our lives by the Power that works within us. Thanks be to God!
JES Musings 