Exodus: The Great Existentialist Manifesto (and Practical Parental Priorities)

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(Exodus 3:6-10) And [God] said, "I am the God of your father[s] ..." Then the Lord said, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey ... Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt."

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In this text, God addresses what have become the great existential questions that organize humans collectively and propel humans individually. Astutely, existentialist Yalom (1980) summarized these into four definitive and ultimate issues, which collectively are themes that function as intra- and inter-personal governors. These are (1) Death, which includes lifes anxieties and limits; (2) Freedom, which includes responsibility and willing action, (3) Isolation, and (4) Meaninglessness. Within all people, these are ubiquitous imperatives (Tillich, 1952).

Regarding the issue of Death--God dismissed it. He identified Himself as the eternal "I Am." He is the present Father for past, present, and future generations even though their earthly parents (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) appeared to have ceased to exist (see also Matthew 22:32, Exodus 3:13-14). Regarding Freedom, God created space to share it. Despite the cruel restrictions of their Egyptian taskmasters, God eternally extended to that generation (as He does with each generation) an invitation to experience life in His presence--including all the responsibilities and privileges associated with freedom. Regarding Isolation, God denied it. Because of their circumstances, Israel believed they were alone, unheard, unseen, uncared for--they were not. Regarding Meaninglessness, God created splendor, power, and beauty out of the chaotic void of emptiness that seemed to be defining their existence.

A (Personal)

From having read the whole of God's Word, I know that I have been adopted into God's family even though--like a wild, unfruitful branch that was grafted into a healthy tree--I didn't come with any personal merits ... or so I thought. What I have also come to learn, though, is that by experiencing God's presence, by being barefoot and sensitive to His holiness and goodness, I learn that I, like anything or anyone else, have value. God creates value in my soul. God is, indeed, the "God and Father of mercies, the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our afflictions as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings" (2 Corinthians 3:2-11). He is the eternal I AM.

A (Psychological)

Play therapists seem to have gotten more than their fair share of insights into how humans work. Unlike adults, whose natural medium of communication is through language, children's natural medium of organizing and figuring out the world is through their natural, spontaneous, enjoyable, voluntary, and non-goal-oriented play. God made children so that in their creative process of playing, they, as Garry Landreth wrote, "learn to live in our symbolic world of meanings and values, at the same time exploring and experimenting and learning their own individual ways" (Play Therapy, 2002, p. 10).

Interestingly parallel to Exodus 3, Landreth (p 204-206) wrote that the play therapist's primary responsibility in the therapeutic relationship can be summarized in four healing messages, which therapists should work hard to communicate at all times--not just in words but in his or her total person:

1. I AM HERE (Nothing will distract me. I will be fully present physically, mentally, and emotionally.)


2. I HEAR YOU. (I will listen fully with my ears and eyes to everything about the child, what is expressed and what is not expressed.)


3. I UNDERSTAND. (I want the child to know that I understand what he or she is communicating, feeling, experiencing, and playing ... the inner depth and meaning of the child's experience ... and that I am still accepting this child.)


4. I CARE. (I really do care about this little person and I want her or him to really know that. If these first three messages are clearly perceived, the therapist will not be perceived as a threat and will be permitted into the child's world.)

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Lord, so often my world makes no sense and seems way beyond my ability to control or direct. I can't put into words how safe I feel--how comforted I am--by Your presence, knowing that you are ever present for me. You truly strain to listen for my voice. You delight in understanding how I see and how I distortedly view my life ... and despite all that (who knows, perhaps even because of all that), You truly care for me. Amazing. Thank You. I remove my protective shoes before You so I can be increasingly sensitive to where You want me to be and what You want me to do. Amen!