Look! The green grass has broken through the soil, overflowing with greenery and full of life in the sunshine, decorating the earth and bringing people the feeling of spring. They have never striven to grow taller than the trees, never competed with flowers for beauty of looks, never forgotten themselves because of a poet’s praise of their tenacious life force, nor have they felt sad for being ordinary and always neglected by people. But instead, they play their own roles as they have always been, keeping the duties bestowed upon them by the Creator. In winter they are withered and in the next spring grow again, offering green scenery for nature’s resurrection, contributing their own tiny effort in producing fresh air, and sacrificing themselves as the food of cattle and sheep. They do not seek to shine before people, but only perform their own functions in obscurity.
The trees have sent out fresh green buds. They stand along the roadside, branches swaying softly in the breeze. Although they cannot keep evergreen all the year round, and although they can only take root quietly underground, they have never shown any dissatisfaction. They neither envy the freedom of the birds, nor feel jealous of the towering buildings. They only keep their own positions silently: In spring, they put out new leaves and offer a home for the birds; in summer, they provide cool shade for people to have a rest; in autumn, its fallen leaves return to the ground and are transformed into spring soil; in winter, they stand still in the fierce wind and snowstorm, waiting for the advent of the next spring.
The birds also duly return. See, they are chasing after each other, scampering and chirping in the treetops, their voice so clear and sweet. Although their life is short, and although they have to fly here and there to look for food to fill their stomach, they still flap their wings flying cheerfully and freely in the blue sky. They are content with the ordination of the Creator and ceaselessly praise Him with their singing. How happy they are!
When a gentle breeze blows, the grass waves their hands, the leaves dance in the wind, the birds twitter lightly…. What a delightful scenery! These insignificant roles can be seen everywhere. Year after year, they faithfully perform their duties, never being negligent. With their existence, the earth looks more colorful and lively. I couldn’t help but utter my praise to the Creator for His wonderful deeds.
At this moment, I thought of a passage of God’s words, “I delight in observing the little birds flying in the sky. Though they have not set their resolve before Me, and have no words to ‘provide’ to Me, they find enjoyment in the world I have given unto them. Man, however, is incapable of this, and his face is full of melancholy — could it be that I owe him an unpayable debt? Why is his face always streaked with tears? I admire the lilies blooming in the hills. The flowers and grass stretch across the slopes, but the lilies add luster to My glory on earth before the arrival of spring — can man achieve this much?”
God feels pleased about the birds flying in the sky as well as the flowers and grass on the earth. Although they are so insignificant and ordinary as to be unworthy of mention, they are grateful to the Creator for His ordination and the roles He bestowed upon them. They conscientiously keep the duties predestined by the Creator, play their respective roles, and manifest the wondrous deeds of the Creator.
God’s question “can man achieve this much?” made me fall into deep thought. I stopped to look back on the road I had walked and found: Unwilling to be ordinary and insignificant, I’ve struggled hard for fame and status, trying to dissociate myself from the title “nobody” and lead an extraordinary life. In the end, however, I am still an ordinary person. I was depressed and sullen for my life being too common, felt melancholy for the ordinary job I did, and complained against heaven. It was just like what God says, “Throughout this vast world, all of mankind labors busily in the work of finding their own way. They are not sure what role they play and some even damage or forfeit their lives for the sake of their fate. … Because of his greed or his human nature, no man is fully satisfied with his current condition.”
Right! Because of my greedy and arrogant nature as well as being influenced by the viewpoints like “getting ahead,” “standing above others,” and “living a life of superiors,” I always desired to become different from others and stand out among people, unwilling to be ordinary. In order to be looked up to and admired by others, I contended with people around me and toiled for fame and gain, so much so that I lost myself and struggled in anxiety and pain, wasting the precious time of my life. As I was unwilling to live a humble life like the grass, unwilling to be down-to-earth as the tree, and unwilling to rest content with life like the birds, I caused many unnecessary pains and troubles to myself, suffering a lot in vain. Only then did I realize how poor my life was because I was unwilling to obey the predestination of the Creator.
God’s words say, “It is because God created all things and He gave them rules that by His command they each perform their allotted tasks, fulfill their responsibilities, and play the role that was bestowed upon each of them. All things fulfill their own role for mankind, and do this in the space, the environment where people live.”
“No other objective conditions can influence the mission of a person, which is predestined by the Creator. All people become mature in their own particular growing-up environments, then gradually, step by step, set off down their own roads in life, fulfill the destinies planned for them by the Creator, naturally, involuntarily entering the vast sea of humanity and assuming their own posts in life, where they begin to fulfill their responsibilities as created beings for the sake of the Creator’s predestination, for the sake of His sovereignty.”
The roles of all things are all predestined by the Creator.
Regardless of how ordinary they are, they all have their value and meaning of existence and are all playing the irreplaceable roles. It is just because all creations fulfill their own functions in their different positions that we are able to see the green grass in spring, breathe the oxygen released from the trees, listen to the beautiful singing of the birds, and appreciate the beauty of all things. Their precious quality is that they never complain about their plainness, but strictly keep their own place, living for the duties bestowed upon them by the Creator, sacrificing themselves silently for man, and realizing their value of existence.
Similarly, God also gave each of us life. From the moment we came crying into this world, we began to live in the special environment arranged by God. Everything of us has long been predestined by God, including our appearance, our jobs, and even the trajectory of our lives. God has special ordination for every one of us, so we each have a role that cannot be played by any other person. Our life journey will never be changed because of the outward glory, but rather will go on as ordained by the Creator.
I have finally understood: It is not that with our two hands we can change the direction of our fate, nor that relying on our fantasies we can have our lives rearranged. Only when we know the ordination of the Creator, put aside our desires for fame and gain and status, follow the path that the Creator has guided us, and return to our original place as a created being, can we live steadfastly and calmly. No matter whether our post predestined by the Creator is ordinary or prominent, we all should adhere to our own position, take every step in a down-to-earth manner, and do what we can do to contribute our own part to the ordination of the Creator. Put down the unnecessary burdens, free ourselves from sufferings, and obey the predestination of the Creator — why don’t we live like this?
The fragrance of the air, melodious singing of the birds, the tenacious life force of the grass and the selflessness of the trees — the unique beauty of these minor roles allowed me to appreciate that God’s ordination is so perfect.
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