June 28, 2008

the nature of goats and the meaning of life

Hey, guys. Sorry I haven't posted in a while. There's been alot going on and it's been hard to find time. It's getting back to normal though.

But anyways. A little aside about myself, if I may. I know my girlfriend better than anyone, (this is what she tells me) and she knows me best, too. At the same time, I don't even pretend to understand her. It's not that she keeps secrets or hides who she is. We tell each other just about everything, I think. Maybe you've heard the comparison to an ant trying to understand humans. They walk around carrying tiny pieces of bread ( I think it's bread) and couldn't possibly understand us. She's a woman and that puts her beyond my capacity to understand. Her complexity and mystery are amazing. I love it! I'll spend the rest of my life getting to know her, not trying to explain her.

God doesn't want us to explain Him with some cold mathematics either. He wants us to know Him. He created us to know Him and love Him; to be known and loved by Him. Did I just answer the "meaning of life" question without so much as an exclamation mark? Basically, yes. We exist to know and love, to be known and loved by God. It sounds too simple, doesn't it? A little hippyish maybe? Let me explain it a little better.

I'm not here to make an argument against aetheism (although I'd love to if anyone wants to start one) so we'll start with God. We have an all wise, all powerful God who created the universe and everything in it. Everything He made works exactly like it was made to work. The sun's gravity holds us at just the right distance, the water supply has cycled for 6000 years without failing, goats never cease to.... okay, I haven't figured out that one yet, but I'm trying not to let it bother me. The point is that God doesn't make mistakes and what He creates is able to do what it was made to do.

What did God make us for? What are we capable of? The defining characteristic of people is that we have a choice whether or not we do the right thing. Planets orbit, water recycles, goats....do goat things. They just do. We have choices. We have free will. God didn't make us robots that would always do the right thing. Why do you think that is? He wants us to make the right choices doesn't He? Well, there's one choice in this world that only counts if it's freely chosen. Love. Love is only real if it's given by choice. You can force someone to be nice to you or even marry you, but you can not force someone to love you. In fact, the more you try, the less likely they are to love you.

God doesn't force. He gives us freedom to make the choice we were created to make. God loves you so much! And contrary to popular belief God doesn't love all of us. He loves each of us. It's not a blanket policy. He knows your name. He knows your heart. He watches you sleep at night and He smiles. And He doesn't love you because He has to. A lot of people think that that's true. I used to think that too, I guess. But love only counts if it's given by choice, right? God invented love and any rules that govern it are because that's how God does it. God loves us by choice. That would be easier to believe if there were a few people He didn't love, right? Well, the reason He loves everyone is that He made everyone and He made us for that reason; to love us. Our freedom to choose is the evidence that our purpose is to know and love God and allow His love to effect us.

Josh