Get ready to start a journey…a journey through the pages of the Bible and the pages of your life.
Life doesn’t always make sense. Some things we experience just don’t fit nicely into our box of expectations. We like to be in control, and we can control things we understand that fall into our line of thinking…but…when we can’t understand how and why things happen…the control eludes us.
God owns it all, and everything we have is a gift from him. Satisfaction comes when we are content with what God gives and steward his gifts in a way that honors him.
Many people long for life to be a circus of sorts, looking for entertainment and pleasure. That may include using your phone to scroll endlessly through YouTube, watching a daredevil drive her bike off the garage roof onto a homemade ramp that sends her flying into a swimming pool, or 100 interesting animal moments caught on camera. Seeking pleasure might drive you to drink, drugs, or sex.
Finally, our vocation is a gift from God. Every day we should do our work in a way that honors him. Sure, we have a boss and performance reviews, but at the end of the day, only one review will matter. The Scottish pastor and Bible scholar Harry Ironside worked for a cobbler when he was a boy…
Recently, Lori and I had breakfast with a couple whom we have known for a long time. They were in town because their daughter (and youngest child) was beginning her freshman year of college. The wife came to Pittsburgh thirty years ago as a foreign exchange student. She was an atheist until God grabbed her heart and loving “sponsors” (who became her spiritual parents) showed her what it looked like to love Jesus. The husband had been a Muslim until God transformed his life and gave him a heart to share Jesus.
Wisdom is an excellent tool for human progress but not the answer to the human problem. Sin has separated us from God and left a significant hole in our inner being. Wisdom allows us to live longer and more comfortably but cannot fill the God-shaped void deep within.