Life is so short, so fragile.
We can pretend it isn’t, but then some tragedy strikes to confront us with how
little control we really have. Then you can start to think about how vast the
universe is, and how long it has been, and how long it will go on without you,
and you feel overwhelmed. Broken. Worthless.
If there is no God,
this is a desperate situation. We get a few years, in which we make no
difference, leave no mark, enjoy very few things (finding fulfillment in none),
and are eventually forced to give it all up when our bodies cease to function.
All of this, with a mind that tells us there has to be more.
But fortunately, there
is. As C.S. Lewis pointed out, every need has an end: water for the thirsty,
food for the hungry, sleep for the tired. If we have a desire for something
beyond the physical world, something eternal, it stands to reason there is
something there to desire.
The wonder of Christianity
is that the something desires us, as well. And the something is therefore a
someone, a person who can think and feel. That is God, the One who made us so
we could be with Him. We mess that up with the way we pretend we are the
end-all and be-all. But even so, He still wants us so much that He made a way
for us to be reunited. Jesus’ blood wipes away our pretentions to be in
control. His death and resurrection make it so we can approach God, if we admit
our limitations.
As a Christian, I do
not have to pretend to be so great. I can admit life is short and full of
struggle. But I don’t have to do so in despair. The value in life comes not in
what I can do, but in who I am in God’s love. God is there for us, as the
resurrection of Jesus so supremely proves. He is there beyond our limits. When
our strength fails, when our ignorance is proven, when our time runs out, we
can rest in His arms and know that He will hold us forever.
That is what He wants
from us. He desires us, and that we should desire Him. And when we do, we do
not have to be afraid. We can face the realities of life because we do not have
to overcome them. Jesus has already done that for us (John
16:33). All we need to do is lean on Him.
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