Pieces

"Everything is meaningless."  I'll warn you before you begin to read; this is not going to be a literary masterpiece.  If you usually enjoy my blogs, you probably won't enjoy this one.  It might be a little scattered.  It might be a little aimless.  You might feel like there is no point or purpose.  But, sometimes emotions are difficult to translate into words.  I'm experiencing this as I write this blog.  I've noticed this before, but this is the first time I decided to meditate on it.  I can feel intense emotions and feel as if the words should spill out onto the keys of my laptop, but there seems to be a barrier that I can't quite put my finger on.

I woke up to a morning that was unusually dark, cold and breezy for this time of year.  Spring had already begun to make itself known over the last couple of weeks, the groundhog didn't see it's shadow, so I had assumed winter had packed it's bags, said it's goodbyes and bid us farewell.  Don't get me wrong, I actually like winter, and the unexpected cold snap is somewhat welcome.  But as usual, a drastic change in the weather means a drastic change in my overall mood.  Melancholy, meditative and a bit reflective is how I would classify my disposition as of late.  I feel in no ways apathetic or unmotivated.  There seems to be a lot going on upstairs, but the door's locked for right now.  I've carried this mood with me throughout this week.  "For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven." 

You might say that this blog is meaningless, and you might be right.  I'm wondering that myself right now.  But life is like that sometime, isn't it?  One moment our life purpose seems clear and distinct, and the next we might question for what purpose we even exist.  It reminds me of the apparent dichotomy between the Old Testament books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.  Most of Proverbs and all of Ecclesiastes were written by Solomon, and could be considered some of the deepest literature ever written.  Proverbs begins and ends with structured wisdom and the sage advice of someone who seems to have a firm grasp on the meaning of existence.  Both books are attributed to the Biblical genre of "wisdom" literature, but it's literally almost as if the author finishes Proverbs and then mockingly screams out to you, "Just kidding!" as Ecclesiastes begins.  "Meaningless!  Meaningless!" says the teacher, "Utterly meaningless!  Everything is meaningless." (Ecc. 1:2)  OK, but what was that whole book of Proverbs about then?

The book goes on to emphasize the injustices of life and the seemingly constant battle with pain and suffering.  In a very candid method, Solomon reveals his deep conviction that the exhaustive pursuits of life are without reason and inevitably amount to nothing.  Overall, you get the impression that he sees only complete meaningless of life and the impossibility of understanding the nature of our existence.  Ultimately, one is left with an apparent duality of emotions when compared with the book of Proverbs.  "Lean not on your own uderstanding."

But is there really a tension between these two books, philosophy and theology?  I don't think so.  What I think Solomon reveals to us in these two amazing pieces of literature is a tension that exists in most of our lives.  We often settle into a rhythm of life, in which we think we have all the pieces to the puzzle.  We begin linking piece after piece, all the while believing that the picture is being revealed.  Our pace increases as the number of puzzle pieces decreases, and we feel the confidence of eventually accomplishing our goal.  But what happens if we get to a point of realizing that several puzzle pieces are missing?  What happens when we realize that the image revealed is not what we thought it was going to be?  And what happens if someone trashes our puzzle?  "Meaningless.", but "Does not wisdom call out?  Does not understanding raise her voice?"     

"All share a common destiny."  I'm beginning to realize that life can be like this for some of us.  We chose certain paths in life, made turns that seemed right at the time, and continue racing through life, anticipating that the goal will eventually be revealed to be what we've always anticipated.  We grow and we learn.  We build, we develop and we acquire.  We fill our minds with endless knowledge, all the while thinking that the more knowledge we file away, the closer to the finish line we will eventually end up.  But does more knowledge always equal more understanding?  Do more pieces always complete the puzzle?    

"Give me neither poverty nor riches"  When you think about, there is really not a huge difference between the acquisition of knowledge and the seemingly meaninglessness of life.  In fact, each one could easily exist in complete independence of one another.  We fill our minds with more and more wisdom, but without a clear grasp of the mundane realities of life, our endless pursuits will only equate to frustration and a lack of fulfillment.  More wisdom does not always equal a clearer understanding of life, and our grasping of this truth is very critical to our understanding of ourselves and the mysteries of God.  But isn't that what faith is all about?  An incomplete puzzle, with missing pieces?  An image that we cannot fully make out, but nonetheless are aware of its clarity and reality?      

Reality is that there are times when all the puzzle pieces are just not there.  No one stole them.  They weren't misplaced.  You weren't ripped off.  in fact, there's a good chance that the pieces never existed in the first place.  And yes, the puzzle will remain incomplete, the image will not be realized and we might just have to start a new puzzle.  But one thing I've learned over the years, is that the early stages of putting together a puzzle are the most enjoyable.  As you get close to completion, it becomes less of a challenge and you begin to see what the picture is going to be already.  Sure, you get the satisfaction of finishing, but the challenge and pursuit begin to fade as reality begins to set in.  You acquired a lot of pieces, and they fit together perfectly, but what you are left with is just a picture that was separated into hundreds of parts for no apparent reason, other than putting them back together again.  "So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun."    

The World According To Norman

Some people say that they see God in art. Well, in many ways, they are right. Most of us have seen the paintings by Norman Rockwell. If not, you’re missing out on a wonderful porthole to Americana. The images depict white picket fences, children eating ice cream cones, the innocence of a child and his first puppy, and a seemingly simple view of life in America. Through these images we see a world that seems to be almost fantasy and a life that seems distant and unrealistic. Some will even say that this view of life is just make believe and unobtainable. Whether you believe that these paintings represent real life or not, one cannot help but sense a desire to possess just a little piece of life as seen through Rockwell’s eyes.

Although our culture may have drifted far from the Norman Rockwell’s vision of life, I believe that it may not be as unrealistic as we might think. In fact, I would go so far as to say that this might be closer to the lives that God has intended for us, and I believe that the key lies within “simplicity”. Let’s face it: our lives have become more cluttered, hectic and fast-paced. Whether in the work place or home, we find ourselves literal slaves to the “to do lists”. The list gets longer and longer, and we feel as if we never seem to accomplish much of anything. We work for bigger homes and have smaller families and yet never seem to feel at home as much as we would like to. Proverbs 23:4 says, “Do not wear yourself out to get rich.” We are not told to avoid becoming rich. On the contrary, God wants us to be prosperous; sometimes that means monetary wealth, and other times not. The point He is trying to make is that we should avoid focusing our lives on the idea that we must be rich to be happy and to find spiritual peace. The key to peace within your circumstances lies in the focus of your life.

We celebrated Christ’s death a couple of months ago, so we have been able to look very closely at our savior’s life and the way in which He lived. If there were any lifestyle that we should base ours on, the life of Jesus would be the quintessential example. In the book of Matthew 8: 20, Jesus talks about the cost of following Him. “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Notice that He does not compare himself to the lifestyle of man. He compares Himself to the life of animals that have the simplest lives of all living creatures. Matthew himself was a tax collector and very wealthy, yet he gave up all he had for a life of following Christ. Now, do we need to sell all that we have in order to have a fulfilling life in Christ? Not at all. In fact, I feel that His intention is for us to have life abundantly. These extreme examples of life with Christ show clearly that our focus can only be on one thing. “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” Matthew 6:24.

To sum it up, as children of God, we should “be content in whatever the circumstances”. Phillippians 4:11. The apostle Paul lived a life of pure contentment. Even while in prison, where he wrote some of his most important works of his ministry, he knew the meaning of being content. He teaches us that we can be content in any circumstance if our lives are built with Christ as the center. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Luke 12:34.

These illustrations only touch the surface of the Bible’s teachings on contentment, money and focusing solely on God, but I think it gives us a very clear direction. The simple images of life seen in Norman Rockwell’s paintings are obtainable and real. They are not make-believe but they represent you and me and that simplicity is the key that leads to contentment.