It's obvious that we don't have much choice in who we are born to, adopted by, or how we are raised. Yet the way we are brought up in this world (our influences, family life, religious beliefs, etc) determines much of our outlook on life. But that's not to say its the sole factor. You can observe many families who raise children the same exact way and yet each child grows up to live life differently from the rest. So what does that elude to?
We have, as individual people, personality traits. (You can thank me for that shocking and not obvious thought later.) These traits lead us in life; they become our nemeses and our strengths, our motives and regrets, and the reasons why people love you and, quite possibly, hate you. From birth they reveal themselves. There's the logical 5 year old, or the 3 year old who can sing on pitch. There's the baby that's prone to dominate over its twin... which brings me to the point of this.
Isaac, son of Abraham, bore two sons: Jacob and Esau. Genesis 25:22-27 says:
"But the 2 children struggled with each other in her [Rebekah's] womb....The Lord told her, 'The sons in your womb will become to nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals... and your older son will serve your younger son'...As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home".
On my journey to discover the balance between predestination and freewill as a believer in Jesus Christ, I am hit with this thought (which is subject to change):
Who we are and how we are brought into the world is planned.
The things in life we will have to struggle with and the things that will be easy to overcome are no surprise to the Creator, because He intentionally created it to be as such. It's how we choose to react to ourselves and what we're given that is our choice.
I'm well aware that it seems easier for some to believe in God. I don't understand why, but I believe that God may present himself more vividly and clearly to some and others. As far as Biblical examples go, take Paul. Who can argue with a blinding light and an audible voice from heaven? Yet there are some of us who beg for a whisper and are lucky to get that. I think that the ones Jesus calls in such a grand manner serve as an encouragement to those who are begging for that whisper. This is another conversation though, and work calls.
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