Mad Libs

Photo Credit: Ryder Mills, Creative Commons

Have you ever played Mad Libs? If so, you'll know that this game is an explosion of laughter waiting to happen. In this game, there is a story that has already been written, but there are blanks throughout it. Each blank has parenthesis following it that says something like "verb" or "noun" so you know what type of word to put in the blank. You go through the story without reading it, only filling in the blanks. The fun begins when you get to go back and read it with your own random words strewn throughout it. An example would be, "Luke Banana (noun) -Walker battled with his inner shellfish (plural noun) when he began training to become a Jedi Steak (noun)." If random humor is your forte, Mad Libs are the way to go.

Ever since our childhood, adults have asked us what we want to do when we grow up. I don't know about you, but that question always intimidated me. I was one of those kids that either had to list the top 100 things it would be nice to do, or shyly admit that I didn't have a clue. I have always been interested in a wide spectrum of things! Even now, as I'm getting ready to graduate, I continue to wonder what exactly God has in store for my life. Unlike the whimsical dreaming of the future that childhood allows, the pressure is on, and we have to start making real decisions that will impact the rest of our lives. I think we have all hit a point where we pray something along these lines, "God, it would be really nice if you could just give a series of signs that tell me exactly what college to go to, degree to pursue, job to apply for, person to marry.. etc." I'm guessing we are all afraid of screwing up this season of life to some degree, and we definitely don't want God to be angry at us for not being as "in tune with his will" as we should have been.

Turns out, God has given us some "signs." The Great Commission is the foundation of what we need to do with our lives. Sharing Christ with the world should be our main goal. Other instructions we have been given include Mark 12:30-31, "And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.' The second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' No commandment is greater than these." There you go: a direct commandment from God telling you what to do with your life. One more verse that gives us some direction is James 1:22. "But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise you are only fooling yourselves." So God commands us to love Him, love others, and finally, to know the scripture and act on it.
Still, all this doesn't answer our specific questions we have about God's will for us. I'm no closer to reaching a decision on which degree to pursue after reading those verses. 

I'm learning, however, that I've been looking at this the wrong way.

I have started suspecting that God is a fan of Mad Libs. He has written the story of our lives, but has mysteriously left a few blanks. This is because God has given us choices. God has indeed written our story ("For I know the plans I have for you.." in Jeremiah), but there are gaps! He wants us to make choices that align with the verses above and act on them. The details are up to us. We don't have to be afraid, this is a gift and an adventure he has given us to enjoy! It's almost like Jesus is saying, "I've shown my love for you by giving up my life so that you can live. Because of this, now you go            (verb) to show your love for me and show my love to the rest of the world." What will you choose to do with the blank God has given you?