" What Sort of Choices Do We Really Have?
-A New Year's Resolution -"

by

Kathy Randall

Have any of you ever noticed that the flow of life often sweeps us in a direction that we did not choose? Or, if we had more control over our circumstances, would never have opted to make? You might answer, "Duh Kathy, this is not news. Why point out the obvious?"

I bring it up because we usually continue in this flow without realizing our choices can be other than what is currently presented. We think we have made a determined choice when we choose between two or three options, even when what we want to do or desire, is not on that list.

So...what do you want for lunch, dear?

To the options, "You can have the tuna sandwich, or the ham," we respond by making a choice not of our own choosing but limited to the options presented. Most of our life is spent choosing between options, none of which we ever desired for ourselves. When we choose the ham sandwich, we may think a profound personal choice has been made, but in reality we are only choosing between the limited options available.

What about faith? As in the ham and tuna, are we choosing only between the options available? Are we going with the flow or investigating for ourselves what the truth of God really is? When we investigate, are we merely trying to decipher between existing options and others' points-of-view, or are we exploring original thought?

You may be surprised to find that a review of scripture will show that those alive in Jesus' day rarely asked him a "completely authentic" question. Most of His answers were confusing because He was attempting to dispense truth, or answer the un-asked important question hidden behind the frivolous one presented. A question asked of him once revolved around the query as to the suffering of a person born with a handicap, "Who was at fault, him, his father or his mother?" You will notice that Jesus did not answer that question directly but rather used the question to try and convey a worthwhile point about the nature of God. His answer was, "Neither. This person was born this way in order that God may be manifested in him."* This was a typical response for Jesus because so many (if not all) the questions asked of him were asked from a societal perspective that He did not share. He was not being evasive, but was trying to go beyond the surface and redeem the question by illuminating a real worthwhile issue. I find it curious that we had God incarnate on Earth, and could not think up anything worthwhile to ask Him!

I am not a Republican nor a Democrat, but a voter. I am not a male nor a female but rather a person. My gender is a "mistake" only if I buy into what society says gender should be.

For those who identify as transgender, the incongruity between our socially perceived gender and our self-determined gender is the primary catalyst for Gender Identity Disorder (GID). When we embrace society's limited definition of gender (of what it means to be male and female) we severely limit our ability to learn or realize the truth of who we are. Why must we choose between such limited options? We do it to ourselves, out of fear of social rejection; fear of losing our livelihoods; fear of risking stigma. Even though we attempt to exist in our society by following its rules, deep inside us we are rejecting our social conditioning. We see flaws in our western social construct, but our ability to make course corrections is hampered by the unfortunate fact that we are attempting to navigate using a social compass that will never point in the right direction.

We are social creatures and early on in our lives (from birth really) we attempt to "fit in." Even though we are frustrated by our inability to fully fit in, the biggest frustration we feel does not come from this inability, but rather from the fact we feel that we have no workable alternatives. Where are the other choices? We have difficulty imagining choices beyond tuna or ham. Our fear keeps us from exploring options other than male and female, because we have never been given other options that we feel are socially safe. How can we be saved from this wretched state? Hopefully some day society will evolve to a state that will embrace a more open, Godly perspective. But for us living in 2008, with just the two options, is there something we can do now?

There is an answer. As always it is Jesus. The power of sin that Christ frees us from is more than just us choosing to limit or change some unwanted actions or thoughts. A relationship with Christ changes us fundamentally. The freedom in Christ to explore ourselves and our world should be one that is unfettered. We may never fully appreciate the depth of forgiveness, or the freedom and profound purpose found in Grace.

"Is it right or wrong?" "Is it sin or not?" Jesus has set us free from the power of those questions that attempt (in the asking) to supercede our self-determination. We can create or discover more options if we give up our fears and embrace His unfettered Grace. The real power of the cross is to defeat the agenda of sin in our life (which attempts to limit us) and replace it with a highly-valued personhood that can lead to an honest exploration of good Godly life-changing choices.

In the T-community there is a lot of emphasis place on "who we really are." This is a good objective. To embrace Grace for ourselves (and bestow it on others) and to resist the temptation to define ourselves by our short-comings, is critical if we desire to find out who we "really are" in Christ.

When we play a game, we usually try to win. Life is no game, yet we mistakenly play it as if we trying NOT to lose. (For those who follow football, they know that the "prevent defense" often results in a disappointing loss.) "Let go" of the fear and explore your options, knowing that you are a child of God. As such, the victory is already yours. This year make a choice that is honestly yours, make a Godly choice.

*John 9:1-3