Have you ever taken part in a rite of passage? There are milestones of passage such as getting a driver’s license, being able to drink and to vote, but these are more related to ages rather than rituals. Ancient cultures understood the importance of these transitions but they have been virtually abandoned in your consumer culture. Is this a gain or a loss? You have an educational system. Does it teach people what to value and guide them through the transitions of life to maturity? Have parents, and the culture as a whole, abdicated this responsibility?

A promise from back in the Old Testament is that I have a plan for you and that my thoughts toward you are full of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope. Do you find comfort in this? Do you know what your future is? It is an act of faith to believe this future exists even if you don’t know what it is. What conclusions can you draw from the trajectory of your life to date? Are you in control of the direction of your life? Have you already seen it unfold in directions that you didn’t anticipate, that were beneficial for you? I still have a future and a hope for you.

Are you a perfectionist? This term is not normally intended as a compliment, but I told you to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. So it sounds like being a perfectionist is the only acceptable goal. But it is not that simple. I criticized the Pharisees for the way the split hairs over the finest points of the law, but ignored the more important issues of compassion, justice, and generosity. So even within the context of perfection there are priorities and ranked values. Do you think that I have unfairly placed an impossible burden upon you?

When you think of authority, do you think of a hierarchy? These are structures of power and dominance, and they exist in nations and armies and navies and economies. The structure is visible and there are titles and ranks and everyone knows where they belong in the power structure. There are also spiritual hierarchies in the government of churches and there was a strong one in effect during my time on earth but I didn’t belong to it. I was outside of the power structure yet my authority was inherent and given by my Father. Do you have a title and an office?