Towards the end of the chapter, Donald dives more into the thought of God as a Father in regards to the sense of belonging. Go here to read the conversations that has led up to this point.
He writes, "The idea became more appealing as we continued driving home, because if it were true, it meant that I did belong, that all of us belonged, that we're here on purpose. And though some of us grow up without biological fathers, none of us grows up without our actual Father. That is, if we have skin, if we have a heart that is beating and can touch and feel, then all this is because God has decided it would be so, because he wanted to include us in the story."
As a person, a fallen, sinful human being, I often struggle with this idea of control. I want to be in control of my life. I tend to think that I exist simply because I have failed to kill myself thus far, on purpose or by accident. I am part of the story because I make myself be part of the story...or do I?
I was not theatrical by any means in school, but at one point, I thought I would try. And with auditions come results....and, well, aside from a couple of very minor roles, I never got cast in a show. I felt as if I deserved a spot. But, truth was, I was an extra. God isn't like that. He has a specific part that He has each of us being in this awesome life. And he has "cast" us in those roles for a very specific purpose.
God didn't accidentally allow us to be born. He doesn't accidentally allow people to be created. In the same regards, people don't accidentally die. Not on His side of things. We may say, "It was an accident," but to Him, it was not.
[I don't want to get into too much theology, about free will and God and control, because it's a hard conversation to have, and even harder to write, plus it deters from the point at hand, so we are going to steer away from that and head this direction...]
My daughter was not a planned pregnancy. I kick myself sometimes for it. I feel guilty because I brought her into the world, unplanned and fairly unprepared. However, it is such a great reassurance to know that while I was not planning her existance, God was. And he planned mine. And yours.
And the best part is that in addition to planning our story, our existance, He loves us. Which leads to the next excerpt:
Donald is talking to his father figure/mentor, John and "he told me that when [his wife] gave birth to [his son] and he held his son in his arms for the first time, it was the closest he had ever been to understanding the love of God. He said that though he had never met this little person, this tiny baby, he felt an incredible love for him, as though he would lie down in front of a train if he had to, that he would give up his life without so much as thinking about it, just because this child existed. John set this love beside other relationships, because they didn't compare. In other relationships, the person he knew had to earn his love. Even with his own father, John learned to love him, and with his wife, they had fallen in love over several years, becoming closer and closer friends. But it wasn't that way with his children. His love for them was instantaneous, from the moment of their birth. They had performed nothing to earn his love other than be born. It was the truest, most unconditional love he had known. John said if his love for [his son] was the tiniest inkling of how God loved us then he had all the security in the world in dealing with God, because he knew, firsthand, what God's love toward him felt like, that it was complete. 'I'm just saying, if God is our Father, we've got it good. We've got it really good.' "
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