What Next?

In Western society, there is an ideal that is exalted above all others. That ideal is probably best exemplified by imagining a mix between Bill Gates, Jay-Z, John Mayer, Barack Obama, and Steven Hawking with each of their 'best' traits being shown. That is, imagine that you are the most wealthy, most popular, most powerful, most attractive, most intelligent, most liked, most youthful, and most capable person that exists. Whether or not you or anyone say these things out loud, this is what you want. It is what your flesh screams for. No matter how humble, mature, or secure you are, your broken flesh longs for this.

To be clear, I am not talking about the healing and transformation that is a result of Jesus' work in your life. I am talking about you, the broken person that is helpless without Jesus. This isn't a personal indictment on anyone. In fact, it is not necessarily a bad thing that these things exist. The fact of the matter is that you have deep, insatiable desires and, without Jesus' intervention, your 'natural' inclination is to look to all of these attributes as their fulfillment.

For a moment, imagine that you attained the highest possible 'level' for each of the aforementioned attributes. You are the richest, sexiest, most powerful, most popular, smartest person on earth. The question then becomes this: what next? At what point does it matter? You are the pinnacle of all things human, but in the end what does it mean? Are you satisfied?

The funny thing about this question is that it's already been answered: think, if you will, about Solomon, son of David. 1 Kings 4-6 talks about Solomon's power and wisdom, which is also spoken about elsewhere. The dude had more money than anyone in the world, had more wisdom than the greatest civilization to that point (Egypt), and had power to command kingdoms that weren't even his own. How well liked was he? He was revered as the wisest person of his own time and of all time by many cultures. Was he ever sexually denied? Doubtful; 1 Kings 11 tells us that he had the choice of 700 wives of royal birth and 300 women specifically employed to have sex with him, plus Pharaoh's daughter!

How did Solomon respond to all of this unprecedented (and thus far unreplicated) success? He was depressed to the point of calling everything worthless. All of Ecclesiastes talks about how wisdom, power, sexual conquest, accomplishment, and whatever else you may seek is in the end worthless. In fact, the only thing Solomon comes up with that's worth living for is the toil that is given to him by God (Ecclesiastes 5:18). What? He doesn't commend having more power than any man has ever had? He doesn't commend having so much money that not only does he never have to worry about having enough of anything, but all of Israel does not? He doesn't commend having sex all freaking day? Isn't that the American dream? Be financially secure, be well thought of, have sex all the time, and have political weight: sounds like it to me.

The reason all of this stuff ends up jacked up is this: there is no way a human being could ever fulfill themselves. We simply aren't able to. One of the most beautiful things I've ever read is C.S. Lewis' "The Weight of Glory," an essay in which Lewis discusses the reality of human nature and the innate desire inside of each one of us for a longing that cannot even be fully described. It is called a nostalgia for something that you have never experienced. I remember having a fight with my mom one time in high school, a time in which I had come to terms with the fact that I definitely was not a disciple of Jesus. I don't remember much of the fight other than me crying because I was very heartbroken about a lot of things going on in my life and telling mom how frustrated I was that there was nothing truly fulfilling. The word I used was 'perfect.' I will forever remember this vividly. I know my mom had a lot of wise words to offer, but I was foolish and ignored basically everything she said (basically that God was the perfect fulfillment of what I longed for, which is what I'm about to tell you) because I was so darn immature.

It is at this point that I ask you, reader, to carefully study and examine the scriptures to make sure they say what I am about to claim. That claim is this: the point of God putting on flesh was not only to atone for our unrighteousness, but also to teach us the best possible way to live. Why else did He live for 30+ years? Why else would he spend 3 years walking around with a bunch of teenagers (no, the disciples were not old men; only one [Peter] was old enough to pay Temple tax [paid at 18 years old], which we know from Matthew 17: 24-27)?

The epitomizing passage for this idea is John 10:1-21, which talks about the idea of life and life to the full. How is that going for you with getting educated, getting power, gaining wealth, freely expressing yourself sexually, and being popular? Do you have life? Are you getting life from those things? I'm going to be so bold as to assume that you do not feel overwhelmingly free to live with abundant joy, if those are high-priority pursuits for you. Why is this the case? Because we were designed with a longing in us that cannot be satisfied by anything of this world. C.S. Lewis, in his essay, writes this:

 "Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

It is in light of this idea that I ask myself this every day and you right now: what are you getting life from, and does it actually give life. As a scientist and a mathematician, I have done extensive research on things that give life. So far, I have tested a few hypotheses concerning life-giving things. Here is an abbreviated list of things I know to not give life in and of themselves: friends, school, money, food, sports, rivalry, athletic ability, good looks, popularity, beer, travel, science, intellect, girlfriends, people, sexual expression, porn, music, escapism, X-box, being a summer staffer at Look Up Lodge, working with high school students, and Cookout trays. I've tried to find some sort of life in all of them at one time or another.

There is one thing that will give you the life you crave, the fulfillment and joy and peace and completion that you ache for like you have never ached for anything else: picking up your cross, giving up on pursuing life from material things, abandoning comfort, and following the simple, difficult, and beautiful way of Jesus of Nazareth. Many will trust Jesus salvation and what happens after they are no longer living on this earth. For them and for you, the question is this: is Jesus worth trusting while you're on it?