I applaud the church for realizing that they misunderstood the theory, and apologizing for hurting the reputation of Darwin via that error. I don’t, however, think they should apologize for disagreeing with him. Even if one side is wrong, debate and disagreement is what verifies truth.

The church, from the article, also states that the teachings of Christianity and the teachings of Darwin are not in disagreement, and I’m not 100% sure on that. A literal interpretation of Genesis is clearly in disagreement, so the questions then becomes whether Genesis should be taken that literally. That’s a debate that I cringe to enter.

amendment: it’s the anglican, not catholic. entirely different story. thanks for the clarification, phil.

I am becoming more and more convinced of this fact, but have yet to fully know, in the Biblical sense, this truth. To let go of a trivial good in the hope and promise of a bigger good can be a difficult thing.

No, this has been a hard year because I’ve been generally dissatisfied with myself, and struggling to figure out who I really am, and what I’m supposed to be doing with my life. Clearly, this is a very cliche battle, and I readily admit it. But it’s been a battle nonetheless. But I’m learning, and here’s a quick summary of the some of the lessons learned from this travail.

1. I don’t have to be anybody else

   A major struggle for me is that there are a few guys around who consistently get the praise and adoration I want because of their level of maturity, or their ability to cause laughs. I’ve not been blessed with an over abundance of understandable fun, apparently, and my maturity level (as shown in my weblog) ranks right in there with a postage stamp at times. So I get very jealous of these gentlemen, and it makes me very bitter. And that’s not a good thing. But I must remember that God did not create me to be them. Perhaps they have some skills and attributes that would be good for me to develop, but I don’t have to be them. In fact, to be them would violate both their reason for existence, as well as mine. Why would God want two of the same thing? God created me to be me, as disparaging as that can seem at times.

   In John 21, John recounts an instance where Jesus was talking to Peter and said to him, “Follow me,” and went on to account how Peter would get to die for Jesus. Peter then sees John and asks Jesus, “Well, what about him?”. Jesus immediately replies (v22) “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.”

   This is the same calling on my life. I am called to do nothing except follow Christ. I am not to compare myself to those around me, even if they obtain the praise and adoration I crave, and simply pursue Jesus and nothing else. To do anything else is a sin, and a disservice both to me, my God, and those I would be serving.

2. Love has nothing to do with you

   To burden someone else because of your feelings is the wrong thing to do. I’ve seen it happen on multiple occasions to/by friends of mine, and I’m pretty sure I’ve been guilty of it. I don’t want that to happen. Ever. To love someone is to consistently put their best interests first, not your feeble fleeting feelings. [If only I could make my feelings agree].

3. God’s timing is perfect.

   At least it better be, or I’m going to be very dissappointed; I’m banking rather heavily on this one. Ps 27:14 says, “Wait for the Lord. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for the Lord.” Okay, will do.

4. There are tons of amazing people around me

   I got lured into thinking that I was devoid of any good quality people around me. Then God opened my eyes. I won’t name them, but I am surrounded. If you’re reading this, you’re probably one of them. Thank you for being alive and letting me know you.

5. Life Hurts

   I’ve only gotten a taste of the pain life can bring, and I’m nearly overwhelmed at times. 2 Timothy 3:1 says, “Know this also, in the last days, perilous times shall come.” Jesus also talks much of realizing that persecution will come. Because of sin, we have to deal with a lot of dissappointment, hurt, and guilt. And it sucks. But Jesus has come to set us free from that. We don’t have to let it get us down. (Gal 5:1)

6. The only profitable end of man is to glorify God

   The book of Ecclesiastes talks at length about the vanity of life, and futility of all human endeavor. I can attest to this feeling. My job is a great job, but it has little eternal value. As a result, I struggle with caring about it. But I realized that I could feel trapped in whatever I am doing. So, then, what is the goal to which we can all strive? What end is there with any profit whatsoever? Relationships. And specifically, a relationship with the everlasting God. Anything He has us do will be ultimately satisfying, because He is the only thing that is ultimately satisfying. As Ecclesiastes says at the end, (ch 12 v13) “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” And Psalm 25:12, “Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD ? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.” (boldness added).

These ponderings have caused me no end to frustration and, at times, tears. I have incredible difficulty losing my life (Matt 16:25), yet I firmly hold to the belief that the Almight God has a plan and continues to work it out in my life. And I will gladly suffer this difficult year if I come out of it more firmly rooted in Him.

If you don’t know where you’re going, you might end up someplace else.

There is truth in the statement. It’s been my instinct, and the philosophy of others that I’ve read that this as a negative thing to not end up somewhere specific. But is it? I would argue that it depends.

On the one hand, to fail to plan is to plan to fail. Unless you set out to accomplish something, you never will. The first step is to take a step. A journey begins with a single step. And so on.

The problem with that is that requires that WE must know where we are going. How many of us truly know where we’d like to be in 10 years? We can guess, but can we know that a given outcome would be the best for us? For our friends? For our kids/spouse/parents/family/pets? How much do we really know? Little at best.

I would also venture to say that for us to always pursue this avenue of life is unbiblical. Let us consider Abraham. What was the edict God gave him? Gen 12:1 quotes it as:

The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. [Gen 12:1, NIV]

This sounds like a prime example of Yogi’s quote; Abram clearly had no idea where he was going, and he ended up there just fine.

Another example worth considering is Peter. (Matthew 4:18-19) Peter was a fairly successful fisherman. We deduce this from several factors, including the fact that he had multiple boats, and employees. But when Jesus called him, he was not given a target for the future, other than to follow Jesus. And what did he do? Left everything and split. So not only did Peter HAVE a goal in mind, but he was successfully following it. And then he dropped it all for a UNKNOWN goal.

So what are we to do? I believe the active ingredient in both Berra’s quote, and a Biblical life philosophy is to be moving. To go. Berra’s quote, amusingly inspiring as it is, implied motion. Abram was told to ‘Go’. Peter was called to ‘come’. So there is activity; it’s just not as directed as we might like it to be.

Taking a step further, I believe we have somewhere to go; we have a path laid out, even if it lacks a specific target. We are to follow Christ. Again, looking at Abram, he was called to ‘go to the land I [the LORD] will show you’. He was to follow the LORD. Peter was called to ‘come, follow me’ by Jesus. The key is, again, to follow. The Bible is full of verses referencing waiting on the Lord, and following after him. Many references are made to ‘directing my steps’. Note that it is steps and not direction. God seems to often be fond of the one step at a time method of leading. So be it. This gives us a path to follow.

However, following Jesus is no ordinary task. You have to be able to see, hear, and understand him and his words, which practically can be difficult. But that is a discussion for another day. Today, the point is that to not have a target is not necessarily a bad thing. I personally would rather have God know what end point I have and let him show me how to get there. It’s a tad more exciting.

Besides, as Gertrude Stein said, “When you get there, there is no there, there,” so why are we in such a hurry to get there?

Indeed, while following in the way of Your judgements, O LORD,
We have waited for You eagerly,
Your name, even Your memory, is the desire of our souls.

Isaiah 26:8

“O how I love Your law!
It is my meditation all the day.”

Psalm 119:97

A choice: [life and prosperity] or [death and adversity]