Life throws curves. It never ceases to amaze me the extent to which that statement proves to be true. Everyone has heard of “Murphy’s Law” right? You know the immutable physical law that states that “anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” Well in Costa Rica that law tends to work double-time. For instance, if you need to get somewhere by a certain time, you can almost be guaranteed that there will be some obstacle in your path that will make punctuality an impossibility. That is one of the reasons why in Costa Rica we have what is known as “tico-time.” Why is it that life has to be so “vicissitudinous?” Why can’t things just be more predictable? Wouldn’t it be great if you could wake up each morning and know exactly how your day was going to turn out…no surprises? I have always been taught to believe that God is “omniscient.” That is, that He knows the course of and is actually in control of all events that will occur? If it is also true that we humans were made “in His image,” then why is it that He didn’t give US that ability? Probably because if we could predict and know in advance what was going to occur life would be horribly monotonous and downright boring. But the truth is that we should not underestimate our ability to influence the future. I have heard before an interesting metaphor about life being like driving your car down a curvy road at night in dense fog. Let’s say it is a road you have never traveled. Of course you get to choose the destination. As you travel this unknown highway you are only able to see a few feet of road ahead in the darkness and dense fog. But every few feet that you advance you are able to see a bit more and on it goes until you are able to arrive. Isn’t that a lot like life? That life just sort of “unfolds” before us as we advance through time and space. We chart our course and began our journey. While your accuracy or vision might be uncanny in the near-term (with your “high-beams” on), it is nearly impossible to see what is “out there” beyond our projected vision. But as you move along in life, you are able to deal with those obstacles as they present themselves and if you stay the course, you eventually arrive at your pre-chosen destination. However, making it there requires that we know at the outset where it is we are going. It requires that we have a reliable “vehicle” to get us there. It requires that we have the requisite skill to maneuver and advance. Finally, it requires that we have faith. This last quality may be the most important, and it may just be the real reason God created us with this prediction-deficiency. According to the bible the definition of “faith” is “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1 NIV). Of course it helps in the faith department to have a belief that some one or some thing is behind and maintaining some order in the chaos that we do observe on a daily basis. The observed life does seem random and chaotic, as if everything were just happening by chance. That is, until you take a deeper and more reflective look. Often it appears that those events that we call problems or obstacles or even catastrophes really serve very profound and noble purposes. Sometimes they help us to realize that we should change our course. Sometimes they prepare us for tougher roads ahead. Sometimes they create in us a firmer resolve. Sometimes they produce in us a nobler character. To me “having faith” is believing that whatever happens in the future that I cannot predict or control will serve a purpose that will bring me closer to my goal, or closer to becoming the person I was created to be. I don’t know about you, but it seems that I am constantly revising my goals, or my “destinations.” One day I know I want “this” and then the next I decide no it is “that” that I really want. Isn’t it true that most of our goals concern things we want to “have” or “do?” However, shouldn’t there be that overriding and unchanging goal that concerns becoming the person we want to “be?” God, being the omniscient creator of us all, knows exactly who that person is and He often makes us run an extremely circuitous course in order to arrive at that ultimate destination. But faith is believing that while the vicissitudes of life may upset the “having” and the “doing,” they will facilitate, albeit in some mysterious way, the “being.”
Comments
D.T.
I like this one and I agree that life would be dull if every day were the same. The bible teaches us that God is the author and finisher of our faith. Each day he’s writing new chapters of faith in our life when we take the time to recognize who he is. I define faith this way; faith is nothing more than believing who God is and that he will do exactly what he says he will.
admin
Thanks for your insight.