Do you remember those three slightly creepy sisters in the movie Hercules? What about Zeus? Have you ever heard of the Grim Reaper? Do you have your own belief about what controls life, death, and destiny?
Some people say destiny some say fate. Whatever it’s called the meaning is the same thing. Things are going to happen that are out of our control and we might as well accept the reality of an unknown future and man up and deal with whatever comes our way. No one really likes inevitable unchangeable events being thrown their way, but hey, it’s fate right?
Some say the universe decides what it wants and we are helpless to change the fact. That’s slightly frightening if you ask me. Having the “universe”, an inanimate knowledge less object, decide my fate seems like a problem to me. Yeah…. no possible way anything could go wrong there, right? J
In traditional Greek mythology the fate sisters were 3 witch-ish goddess sisters who controlled life and death of all mortals. They were extremely temperamental and very creepy. All it would take is one silly mistake by a simple minded human, and there went a few strings and the lives that they represented. These sisters wielded a pair of massive slightly frightening scissors with which they could clip a string, thus ending a life. They held the power of life and death. They decided when you had done enough damage on earth, and when you till had to stick it out. They also could be bribed with small trinkets and special altars designed to honor them. What a horrible way to have your time on earth decided! By three witches who are fickle and prone to bribery. Nice.
What about the grim reaper? You know…. the skeleton swathed in a black cloak that visits when your time on earth is up. Supposedly he had shelves that contained a book for each human on earth, where the story records itself as it was lived out and the final chapter ends whenever he decided it was time. Not creepy or strange at all. It’s completely normal to believe that a skeleton is suppose to pass before me when he see’s that my story is getting a bit over done. Is relying on a personification of death, (whose only control is in the realm of death) that much more desirable than trusting that a God who is control of all?
What about all those roman gods, the ones who were inconsistent and mercurial? You know… the ones who fought among them selves more than 3 year old twin boys and who randomly changed the seasons and blew things up just because they were having a bad day. Can you happily imagine a world where gods who are more concerned about their appearance and reputation than with their subjects, decide your time on earth? Yes, they did care (somewhat) and yes they did thing to help their earthly subjects (sometimes), but by in large, they enjoyed their own heavenly realm and left earth to it’s own demise. Would that explanation of life really satisfy you?
Is it really so hard to say “God did it” and “he’s in control of my life and even thought I might not know what’s going on, or understand why things happen, he’s got it under control”. Are we that hesitant to give up control to someone who really knows better than we do? It would seem to me that if we were going to give up control, it might as well be to someone who knows that their doing. Do the fate sisters, or grim reaper, or Apollo or even Zeus really know what’s going on? Can we really trust our life to “fate”? Can we honestly believe that destiny an acceptable answer to the unexplained parts of our lives?
If people through the ages have believed in all sorts of crazy figures who had the ability to control life and death, why is it so hard to believe in an all powerful, loving, omnipotent God?
Most ancient cultures divided their trust between multitudes of gods because they didn’t think it possible for one God to handle everything. There were sun gods, moon gods, gods for birth and gods for war, gods for harvest, winter, sailing, cooking, sleeping, and even bugs. It seemed impossible and beyond comprehension that there was one God who could do it all.
Well guess what dear reader? That’s exactly what God is. He is beyond our wildest imagination and so much more than we could ever comprehend. He can control not only life and death, but happiness and prosperity, sailing, harvest, winter, cooking, and even bugs. He can do it all cause “he da man”.
It seems to me tat most people only use the word “destiny” when they are trying to explain the potential good events that might befall them.
“You know… I really like that guy/job opportunity/school etc... I think it might be destiny”
“Fate” is normally used when people think bad things are coming and they can’t explain it.
“I don’t understand why this is happening to me! I guess it’s fate”.
Sometimes fate is used to represent good happenings, but destiny is rarely used when speaking of poor futuristic possibilities.
Do we really need fate and destiny? It seems to me that maybe we should be more concerned about the destination God has planned for us, than the unexplained inevitable series of events that may befall us while we get there. I know where I’m going. I know my final destination. I’m not so sure the stuff between now, and the end is all that important. Yes, how I live matters, and the events that I go through do affect me, but I don’t want to give “destiny” credit for God’s hand in my life. I think I’d rather have a loving God control my life than a fickle god, or three witchy sisters. Call me crazy but I’m focusing on the destination not the unexplained so called “destiny”.
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