A call came the other night. An acquaintance of mine who I view very much as a mentor was having a breakdown. A feeling of absolute despair had been creeping up over them for the last couple months and it threatened to eat them alive. While not suicidal, they voiced very strongly that they were terrified of where the feeling might lead them. They were looking to me for peace of mind.
I quickly ran outside with my cell phone to where I could have ample pacing room and told God that if he ever thought it might be fun to talk through me that now would be pretty good timing.
I'm not sure if He humored the request.
I guess the conversation went well. Their voice and capability to talk dramatically changed for the better over the hour. At the end they thanked me, I told them to call back anytime, and I offered the rest of the story up to God. Come what may.
Come what may.
For me the statement is one of great comfort or of great despair.
Either there is a God and life, the universe, and everything is in His hands; or there is no God and life, the universe, and everything is destined to ultimately die in heat death after being bounced around by impersonal forces and random chance.
Come what may.
The context changes everything.
Nothing haunts man more than the reality of death, which logically leads into purpose and meaning. What's it all for, and why does any of it matter? Is there a difference if I choose to end my life now, or if I die naturally at the age of 80? If there is no God, then there is no difference. If the entire purpose of man is to wiggle along for as long as he can before he dies, then whatever we do in this life--whether we model our life after Hitler or Mother Teresa--is completely the same. It all amounts to nothing, and no life lived is better than another. Absolute obliteration will be the outcome of man's pursuits regardless of the paths chosen.
It's my contention that only God, and specifically the Christian God, provides man a worldview in which he can live. Only Christianity satisfactorily answers man's deepest questions on the the issues of origins, meaning, morality, and destiny; only Christ can deliver the fulfillment that man craves--He alone is the perpetual novelty.
When I look at atheism it only stares back at me with a performance of dancers and actors without a backdrop. The show of life ends in an anticlimactic fashion. There is no resolution, no cheering, and no standing ovation. The answer for the atheist in times of confusion is ultimately the silence of an indifferent universe.
I dare not speak for you though, you'll have to evaluate your own life and its purpose. If you can find lasting happiness and meaning in a finite and fleeting world, then you're a much bigger dreamer of dreams than I.
I quickly ran outside with my cell phone to where I could have ample pacing room and told God that if he ever thought it might be fun to talk through me that now would be pretty good timing.
I'm not sure if He humored the request.
I guess the conversation went well. Their voice and capability to talk dramatically changed for the better over the hour. At the end they thanked me, I told them to call back anytime, and I offered the rest of the story up to God. Come what may.
Come what may.
For me the statement is one of great comfort or of great despair.
Either there is a God and life, the universe, and everything is in His hands; or there is no God and life, the universe, and everything is destined to ultimately die in heat death after being bounced around by impersonal forces and random chance.
Come what may.
The context changes everything.
Nothing haunts man more than the reality of death, which logically leads into purpose and meaning. What's it all for, and why does any of it matter? Is there a difference if I choose to end my life now, or if I die naturally at the age of 80? If there is no God, then there is no difference. If the entire purpose of man is to wiggle along for as long as he can before he dies, then whatever we do in this life--whether we model our life after Hitler or Mother Teresa--is completely the same. It all amounts to nothing, and no life lived is better than another. Absolute obliteration will be the outcome of man's pursuits regardless of the paths chosen.
It's my contention that only God, and specifically the Christian God, provides man a worldview in which he can live. Only Christianity satisfactorily answers man's deepest questions on the the issues of origins, meaning, morality, and destiny; only Christ can deliver the fulfillment that man craves--He alone is the perpetual novelty.
When I look at atheism it only stares back at me with a performance of dancers and actors without a backdrop. The show of life ends in an anticlimactic fashion. There is no resolution, no cheering, and no standing ovation. The answer for the atheist in times of confusion is ultimately the silence of an indifferent universe.
I dare not speak for you though, you'll have to evaluate your own life and its purpose. If you can find lasting happiness and meaning in a finite and fleeting world, then you're a much bigger dreamer of dreams than I.
4 comments:
What if God is merely bound by his gift of free will to us and we are left here to fend for ourselves for the time being. Come what may?Come what we bring upon ourselves. Either through direct action or inaction we manifest. What if through free will we choose our incarnations? Why then come now? Why come to life during a time of such suffering? What does that mean about those of us alive right now? Does that mean we came because we thought we could help? Despair is common with many right now. We are realizing that we have been asleep to our true life's purpose and beginning to wake up... It is always the darkest night before the dawn.
There is a large debate in Christianity on the relationship between predestination and free will. How does God's control and sovereignty over the world relate to man's free will and responsibility?
Some sides argue for God's complete dominance over free will and others argue for man's freedom while God sits on the sidelines.
I, however, tend to walk a middle path that sees no contradiction between God's absolute sovereignty and man's free choice. While the relationship is paradoxical it is not contradictory. So while man is free to make his choices through God's gift of free will God is still in control of the future and what will occur, but through man's free choice.
Our actions and choices will bring about consequences, but for those down on their luck and lost in despair, there is no assurance or hope to be found in a universe that doesn't look after or care about anything. Some people are going to get lucky, others worse, and that's just the way it is. End of story.
Without God, there is no hope to be found in life, just a rail to be ridden until the tracks give out, and all of man's creations crumbling upon him.
What purpose are you presenting and what Mind has bestowed it upon His creatures? From what ignorance shall we awaken from, and what breaking dawn shall we set our sails towards?
The mind that has instilled in us a great sense of purpose is the great source of all things. We are awakening from the blind apathy that develops when we leave all that is and all that becomes on this earth up to God. God has given us this planet to grow an develop and to see what we can become. We have moved away from God because we don't feel God's presence in a time of suffering. We are waking up to the truth that God resides within us and all beings living or not. And to treat all of God's creation with love and grace as God would is the only way out of this mess that we've created while God has waited patiently for us to realize that we are all one. Why would God give us free will if he maintained control over it anyway? Like a loving parent God sits on the sidelines because we will not learn by teacher alone. We learn by living and doing and learning from our mistakes. God's gift is that of the ability to mess up. What is humanity if nothing but God's ability to experiment with life and love? When we learn to act as we truly are images and facets of our creator then we can begin to dig ourselves out of despair because we then understand that we are not disconnected from God. We are very much connected with God and all that God has made. The power to be and do good is within us right now and we do not have to wait for God to help us. We can help ourselves and show God all that he is capable of.
Let me ask this. You have mentioned a lot of God does this and God does that. How, though, are we to know these things to be true?
For me, I have the Bible which I believe to be God's revelation to man. The Bible is God speaking to us and telling us about Him and His plan for humanity.
Now, I could be wrong about the nature of the Bible, but I think it's at least a possible way to know God.
How do you know the things that are true of God and why should they be held over what I believe about God?
I believe I can give reasons for what I believe, and therefore I am capable of holding to them. Are there reasons for me to believe what you hold to, and are they better than the reasons I hold to?
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