By the Way: The gift of life and endless possibility

By Oz Lorentzen on April 26, 2025.

Have you ever held a baby, and been struck by the sheer potential? It seems, and it is mostly true, that anything is possible for this child. The future is of course uncertain, but anything humanly possible is a possible future for this child!

This is the gift of (and the nature of) life – one does not have the same response holding something material, no matter how great or beautiful it is. It is what it is. But with life, well anything is possible.

This is the gift of life! This is true with all of Life not just babies. Life equals possibility! Depending on our personality, aptitude and training, we may find ourselves quickly qualifying that sentiment. We begin to think in terms of probability, “this child could be anything, but probably will…”

And, I am enough of a realist (although some people call it pessimism) to appreciate this sort of thinking. But, there may be other motivations for this thinking, and we may find ourselves unwittingly caught in a self-fulfilling prophecy. Why so quickly foreclose on the sheer potentiality that life represents? What ever happened to hope?

And, if this life principle is true, that anything is possible, at the natural level; how much more would this be true for a life that comes from beyond our human capacities? And, I am not thinking of aliens and UFOs. If there is a Divine Being, how much more is it true that all things are possible for God?

May you discover the Great “Yes” to the possible: Happy Easter!

Oz Lorentzen is the pastor at St. Barnabas Anglican Church

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