DUDLEY HALL — Five-year old Sam and his dad were on a hike through some pretty thick woods. Sam began aggressively stomping on the briars in their path.

“What are you doing, Sam?’ asked his dad.

“The man is going out of me,” he declared.

“Have you being talking to Papa?” his dad wanted to know.

“Yes, Papa told me that when I do hard things without whining, the man comes out in me.

A few days earlier Sam and I (as you may have guessed — I’m Papa) went on an outing together. Before sleep one night he wanted to hear another scary story.

“Have I told you about the time my older sister took me on a deep trek through the woods for a picnic? Well, we found an old holly tree that was hanging out over a stream. We carved our initials in it, and it was always a special place for me.”

Sam wanted us to do the same the next morning. So, we dressed in our hiking boots and grabbed a water bottle. The trail was rough. Sam began to whine as the sharp bushes and briars clawed at his clothing. That was the setting for the “man story” Sam was remembering on the hike with his dad. I told him how God created humans to be his partners on earth. They were designed and assigned to subdue the earth. They were made to overcome whatever obstacles they faced in fulfilling their assignment. “You are male and even though you are young, you have a man’s design in you. As you face obstacles and find a way to overcome them, the man inside you comes out.” Sam began to take delight in finding ways over or around the blockades to our goal. By the way, we did find a suitable tree, and our initials are carved there for a memorial.

When we as members of society lose the sense that we are created by God for a particular purpose, we find it easy to whine and make excuses. We can even make a case for abandoning the journey and going back to comfort. So many opportunities to solve the problems in front of us are aborted simply because it is painful or inconvenient. We keep the man or woman inside from growing. In times of trouble we find ourselves paralyzed. In old age can we find ourselves still whining.

We are created to partner with God on earth. What a privilege! He is the invisible but not silent partner. He has all the resources necessary to get the job done. He is not dependent on other sources or circumstances. He leads us headlong into problems because he loves doing for us what looks like can’t be done. He delights in opening the sea for his people to cross. He has no problem dropping bread from heaven. He provides a donkey for the Messiah to ride. He has an unused tomb for Jesus to spend the weekend in before his resurrection. He hasn’t given up on planet earth just because there are big problems. We are designed for this. We can stop trying to escape, stop trying to just survive, and instead put our energy and focus on finding out what our partner wants to do.

Jesus said that his sheep hear his voice. His sheep are those who have trusted him alone for their reconciliation to God the Father. Having been reconciled, they again hear the plans and purposes of their God-Savior-Partner. They are as secure in the Father’s love as Jesus the eternal Son is. They know that nothing can snatch them from the Father’s hand. As they embrace each other, they will permeate the earth with his kingdom. There is much to be done and no time to whine. We are made for more.