Tough Question 6: Why Does It Seem Like God’s Way Is Against the Way of the Real World?
Because it is.
Because our ideas of the purpose of life are most often in direct contrast to God’s.
Because God’s Kingdom is more real that the world we currently live in.
Because we were made for something else, something far more whole, but it hasn’t started yet.
Wow, this sounds like the Matrix, right?! (one of my all-time favorite flicks)
Remember that guy Copernicus, the one who said that the earth revolves around the sun, rather than the sun revolving around the earth? Before his bold proclamation in the 16th Century, it was generally understood that the earth was the center of the universe. Well, guess what, it’s not….and the Copernican Revolution changed science forever. To me, this is a perfect analogy for the intrinsic human assumption that we are the center of the universe. We may not actually “believe” that, but we sure do consistently act like it, don’t we? Our behaviors telegraph our inner values & belief systems…the real ones.
We act like our lives in this world are the only lives we have, and that after we die, we’re done.
We act like the purpose of life is happiness, and that happiness is the result of circumstances.
We act like success is measured by comparison with others.
We act like comfort, pleasure, and entertainment are the keys to the enjoyment of life.
Put these things together, and you have the perfect recipe for disappointment, pain, and suffering, because they’re lies. Even if they seem to work, it’s only for awhile. We’re creatures, created by a Creator, who alone is at the center. And when that Creator created everything, He made us as the pinnacle, the high point, the ones to whom He would make Himself known…through all the trials & tribulations His people have earned & inherited for themselves throughout history. But we’re not at the center. All this is working towards a climax at the end of what we know of as “history”….when time will converge to a singular point, and then end abruptly….and eternity will continue, according to the author’s design. And all the temporal ideas and diversions that seemed so important to us in the midst of the previous life will melt away.
There are many, many things I am troubled by and do not understand…but I do wholeheartedly believe that the meaning, purpose, pleasure, and result of this life can only be found by embracing the Creator at the center of all things…on His own terms. To me, it’s the only thing that makes sense. It’s the beginning and end of all that is objectively REAL.
“Our citizenship is in heaven…and we eagerly await a Savior from there.” (Philippians 3:20)
