Destiny or Faith?

One of the best ingredients for a good love story is destiny:

“We were meant to be together.”

Boy meets girl. They fall in love. “You are my destiny,” one says to the other. Difficult circumstances throw uncertainty onto their relationship. They separate, yet ultimately, fate brings them together again...and they live happily ever after...The End.

With many variations this storyline has been the basis for novels, short stories, movies, and songs. We laugh, we cry, and sometimes…we actually believe...we actually believe in destiny.

Those who have spent a few years on this earth living the reality of life understand the stark difference between life and fairy tales. We know there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. There is no glass slipper or pair of ruby slippers. There are no enchanted forests, no magic potions, no spells, no charms, no magic wands and no Jedi force. There is, however, life, a seemingly endless succession of events stitched together by time; good, bad and ho-hum (or heigh-ho’ if you’re one of seven dwarves).

However, many young people still refuse to set aside the fantasy of fate and in doing so set out on a quest for Prince Charming (for girls), or the beautiful Princess (for boys). After marrying their destined mate life soon unmasks a troll with irritating habits, inconsistencies, and imperfections. Some fall for the tempting plan of Peter Pan: never grow up (yet more sage wisdom from the world of fantasy).

Reality is difficult. It consists of choices, responsibilities, unexpected events, pain, needs, people, and the irreversible passage of time. Even the rich and famous are not exempted from reality; they just have enough money and glitter to hide it. It would appear that our society prefers the example of our hollow Hollywood heroes.

The Bible tells the truth. And from the beginning man has been hiding from reality, that is, the reality of the presence of his Creator. The Bible is full of men and women whose lives are laid bare before us as people living reality before God. Even those of great faith are covered with ugliness because of sin.

The Bible does not teach destiny, fate, or fantasy, yet, amazingly, it does teach happily ever after.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.

--John 3:16

God has revealed his true nature to mankind through Jesus Christ. Your eternal destiny is determined by your choice in this life. You can choose by faith in that which is revealed or guess-choose fickle, unknowable fate.

Choose Jesus!

He’s real.

Mark Stinnett

January 21, 2024