"What if?"

   At least a couple of thought paths intersected in my brain this morning:

   1. The message in church today had to do with Christ's death on the cross, and the implications of that historical fact on my life.

   2. In talking with a friend this morning, she spoke of a girl from Thailand that was leaving today to go back home after being here for 6 months.

   I have, many times, as I visited other places or talked with people from far off lands, wondered what life I would live if I had been born there, or if I had been brought up in a different culture altogether. Not just the physical aspects of that life but the internal thinking as well.

   "What if" I had been brought up in a Chinese or Iranian culture? How about Zimbabwe, or Finland, or Spain, or Brazil? What would my spiritual upbringing look like? Would I have embraced Buddhism or the Muslim culture? Would my life have been influenced by Spirit worship or the Catholic faith? Where would I be right now?

   I don't have to do the "what ifs" just regarding a different country or continent. I could be have been born into a hispanic community or a black one in the US. I could have been born into high society or the ghetto, and would those facts have made a difference in my spiritual journey?

   The path traveled would have been different for sure, but what about the outcome? Would I have embraced Christianity or something else because of where I was born and raised, or lived?

   Because of my upbringing, it is natural for me to assume that this middle class life, this church going family, this path to faith is the norm, but I know it is not. In fact, there seems to be no norm at all.

   God calls who He will. People hear the call in many different places and in many different cultures. Adults, teens and kids respond in a variety of places, cultures and situations. I believe that when God wanted me to accept, he could have reached me in any place and situation in the world.

 

   The point is not "can God reach in and call anywhere?", the "what if" in my situation causes me to look at the difficulty of hearing and believing in a more antagonistic society. How much different would be my faith be at this point in my life, if my path had not been greased by coming along in the Bible Belt, in a land of religious freedom. Would I be a different person?

   I guess I look at my Christian life as "normal", but is there such a thing? Would a more difficult path to Christ have made me into a better disciple?

   This young lady from Thailand accepted Jesus Christ while she was here. What will her life be like when she gets back home to her family and culture? What if she had not come?

   What if? What if? and What if?

   I don't think that God expects me, or anyone else, to just be grateful for His blessing and calling, but to get up out of any comfort zone and do His work also. Let's go...