Cindy and I are in our 70’s. It’s been a great ride. But, realistically, it is nearing the end. It seems like every joint aches. We both have multiple medical issues, any one of which could ultimately be our end. Welcome to senior living……just another phase of life in a temporal world: birth, a vital healthy youth, a fulfilling middle age when we build our “empire”, and then the physical decline to death. I’m not whining. This is simply the truth that we live in.
You too, are operating somewhere on the same continuum. When you are young, it seems that you have an endless amount of time. In your middle age you are distracted with your career and family. Then, when you are very old, you realize that there is not much time to work with. But, the cold hard truth is that the teenager, the middle-ager and the senior are all in the same, time limited, boat.
Depending on your belief system, the physical universe is either millions of years or thousands of years old. The spiritual universe is either eternal, or non-existent. Take your pick. In comparison to the 70 or 80 years of a human life, the difference is inconsequential. My physical life……your physical life……is the blink of an eye. If you don’t believe me, write this down in your journal and re-read it on your 70th birthday.
And there it is.
Either this incredibly brief temporal world is all there is…….or there is an eternal spiritual world…….a world that is ultimately far more important. Either we are a brief, inconsequential, puff of wind in a giant cosmic accident…….or we are important. Either we are doomed or we are a meaningful part of something huge…….something spiritual. And that is about as far as science and logic can take us.
If you restrict your search to science and logic……if you ignore or deny the spiritual…..you will miss the big picture. And that is exactly what our secular humanist society insists that you do. They have accepted their doom…….and they want you to join them. Misery loves company. They are not malicious. They are confident that they are right. You may be one of them.
But……what if there is something better than doom?
What then?
Look into your heart. Are you important…..or are you doomed? My heart screams the answer. I am important. I am loved. I am created. And so……..I reject doom. I reject secular humanism. And so……..I must seek my creator, my sovereign, my Lord. Because he is the only alternative to my doom.
Ignoring the spiritual is intellectually dishonest. Making up some eternity on your own is intellectually dishonest.
If you too reject doom. If you want to seek your creator, begin by talking…….and listening. Begin with a humble prayer. Then study. The best place to start is the Bible. Begin with John and Acts.
What comes next is hard……so hard that many of us don’t even start the journey. You are going to have to submit to the sovereignty of your creator.
This bears repeating.
You are going to have to submit to the sovereignty of your creator.
A famous rabbi once summed it up, “Father…..your will be done”.
Sounds like a real buzz-kill. But, here’s the thing about submission. Your creator loves you and he is better at running your life than you are.
Or, you could choose the path of secular humanism. Take charge. Assume the job of sovereign of your universe. It won’t work. Know this. You cannot create eternity. You cannot even fix this temporal world. You cannot sidestep your doom…..which is only a few breaths away. You cannot save yourself much less the planet. The evidence is crystal clear.
Consider the alternatives:
Secular Humanism…………and guaranteed doom.
Submission to your creator………..and guaranteed life.
he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
Jesus submitting to his father, Mark 14:35-36, ESV