We Choose

From where have we come?
Does it matter?
To whom do we belong?
Does it matter?
We have a need to belong.

If we discover the beginning,
if we follow a trail into the past,
if we ask questions and demand answers,
do we add worth or meaning to who we are?
Do we subtract worth or meaning from who we are?
We have a need to know we are valued.
We have a need to know "why" we are.

Do we look to our side, at individuals there,
and determine their roots are "lesser"
and so we must be "greater",
or do we determine their roots are "greater"
and so we must be "less"?
We know, without doubt, that man does just this,
and war, horror, subjugation
and all manner of darkness result.

Only some believe we are all created equal.
Only some live as they believe, that we are all created equal.
As evidenced by history, man is broken.
We are broken. We are broken.
We have a need for touch, the touch of the Healer.

Roots can be meaningful, inspirational, motivational.
Roots can elicit fear, terror and grief, but they do not define us.

We choose what defines us.
Our choices define us.
Whether we choose from delight and peace,
pride and arrogance,
or fear and sorrow, we still choose.

We have freedom to choose
at any given moment,
on any day,
in pretense or sincerity,
by action or inaction,
consciously, unconsciously,
whether victor or victim,
we choose as we wish.

Our freedom to choose is foundational, it is God given.
In His great love, He chose us first.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world
to condemn the world,
but to save the world through him. John 3:16-17.

It was by Him and for Him we were made.
Apart from Him we continue to search.
Quests, tests, experimentations and ponderings of every kind,
yet none fill, quench or still.

I found the One who heals.
He reached for me.
I made a choice.
I am cherished and no one compares
to my God and His amazing love!
Nothing can seperate me from Him.
I belong.
I know my "why",
to love my God with all my heart, soul and strength
and to love you, my neighbor, as myself.

You are cherished.
You belong.
He is near to you, reaching for you,
but He will not take your freedom to choose.

Copyright Joy Chastagner 2008