Life a Weblog for Young Adults

I think He wants me to watch the news actively and with purpose. Most of us watch to see what’s going on, so we can be informed, and so we can have an intelligent conversation the next day. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I think we can watch the news with more of a participatory goal in mind.

I’ve come to a place in life where I don’t think I will ever be really shocked by how rotten and evil people can be to each other, their environment, and to themselves. What limit is there to how low people can stoop? I’m not so sure there is one. I’ve arrived at that conclusion not only because I try to keep up on world news, but also because I know my own heart. I have a pretty good idea of what I’m capable of, and honestly, it’s not pretty.

The greatest draw of my simple heart is toward beauty, in all its manifestations. Somehow it seems as soon as I capture a glimpse beauty like a moment of truth between friends, or enjoying a mountain panorama as I find myself writing now, there is an accompanying sadness. I mourn because I know that I can’t take it with me. It is a longing in my soul that drives me into history books, into songs, into the arts. I’ve been looking for an answer to a question, “What lasts?”

A part of us feels as if something is spiritually wrong with us when we experience circumstantial uncertainty. But that is precisely what Jesus promised us when we are born of the Spirit and start following Him. Most of us will have no idea where we are going most of the time. And I know that is unsettling. But circumstantial uncertainty also goes by another name: adventure.

What if I could see every angle, every perspective in any given problem, being aware of every contributing factor? Would that make me a better person? Would I be more likely to follow through with what is right?

Our culture has subconsciously conditioned us to accept three things when it comes to viewing life. First, the culture we are born into is the lens through which we must interpret life. Second, the culture of the world is the second one we must embrace in order to make sense of the one we are born into. And last but not least, the culture of our faith—Christianity—should be little more than an accent to the first two cultures.

In a society of so many choices of entertainment, one could literally live from one thrill to the next. The culture counts down to the street date of releasing records and movies. Untold thousands line up days ahead to purchase fancy late technologies. Countless hours are spent conquering pixels on gaming consoles. Contact with our families is stifled by the addiction to the world of social networking. It is in this time, and in this culture that we find such a vacuum for meaning.

In American evangelicalism, the goal of faith appears to center on believing the right thing—believing the gospel. But if “belief” is the only goal of the gospel, then once a person believes, life is futureless. We’ve done it all; we’ve finished the race. I’m not suggesting that belief isn’t critical or that it isn’t the place where we must start, but isn’t there more?

To me Eden in some ways represents the memory of the way things are supposed to be. Walking with God, in beautiful nature, with perfect marriages, community living in peace. Comfort. Security. Meaning. Love Intimacy. I would love to live in that type of social environment. I’d like to think I could have Eden like moments in my life, and so do all of us. We look to hope in policy and religion and social reform to bring us closer to Eden. But in the pursuit we repeat the same strange divisive cycle, over and over and over. The element of sin refreshed in each rotation.