Letting Go

I had these big ideas for this post but instead just keep rambling. Considering this post is all about letting go, I decided just to post what I got. :)


I was coming home from work the other day and I read a church sign that simply stated, "God is in Control". At first I imagined a mad man reacting in total defiance of the sign and slamming his car into the car next to him. Yeah, that's my first thought.

Beyond this transitory insane thought, I began to ponder the whole idea of giving up control and gaining something else far more satisfying back. It seems at the bottom of every belief system (or for that matter some non-belief systems) the first step is to give up control of your life.

"Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it." - Jesus as quoted in Luke 17:33


The whole idea of control stands firmly in the way of a walking a spiritual path because giving up control means giving up your own pride. It means admitting that you don't know what's best for you. It means letting something (or someone) else determine your ultimate fate.

 I figured it was time for a cheesy, inspirational photo symbolizing all of our spiritual paths. Often I find symbols to be too idealistic, causing myself to wonder if I am even on a spiritual journey at all. So, if you find yourself looking at the above photo and wondering if you are "spiritual" or not, the answer is to stop over-thinking it and just enjoy the photo.  

I'm the first person to admit the dangers of reading too far into our past history. Then again, to not give meaning to the past, means we can't even understand our own narratives. So, with significant doubt (and wonder) I can look back at my life and begin to see I was in denial of how much control I even had at the time. I can look back and see what some would call fate, luck, or I would call God's fingerprints all over my past.

I can firmly say my wife Kathryn and I feel we have been led to this time and this place in our lives. As we travel the road of adoption together, we feel like we have had our hearts opened and this is where God had been leading us all along. We let go of a lot of fears and doubts and (so far) have gained much in the process.

Strangely enough though, it doesn't feel like an end point. I don't mean necessarily we are done adopting (that's an open door) but we feel like we have open hearts for what God wants us to do. We don't have any firm ideas right now as we are (well, for lack of a better word) entrenched in our adoption process. We are open to any number of scary, exciting, crazy paths for our lives to become. This doesn't mean anything will happen soon or even that it has to wind up me leaving my job. I am just trying to let go of dictating my own future.

"We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the life that is waiting for us." - Joseph Campbell

So in this intermission of sorts (although, it doesn't feel like any kind of intermission I know about) I want to just wait and listen.  I want to ask God for where he wants us to serve. It's a crazy idea really. Letting go of my dream job, financial security and family expectations. Letting go of the comfortable "good life" and embracing the unknown. Letting go may not be easy, but it will sure keeps you on your toes.

The Earthly Self vs. The Eternal Self

The concept of eternity is hard to imagine. After all, nothing lasts forever.

Change seems to be the singular, consistent force in the world. Our life spans reflect the natural, seasonal change that surrounds us all. We even thrive within change. Our hopes and dreams are shaped by the ticking of the clock.

A Christian's ultimate goal is usually stated as "heaven". Paul believed life was best lived focused on the afterlife.

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." - Paul in 2nd Corinthians 4 


Traditionally, Christianity has not emphasized the transitory nature of life, but focused on the eternal resting place of our souls. It is understood our time on earth will only represent a fraction of a second compared to our eternal existence.

Courtesy of Google when I searched "heaven". Just tickled this exists. Amazing.

Eternal life, heaven, whatever you want to call it, is a warm and appealing idea. Surely, everlasting life is humanity's greatest wish fulfillment. To step outside of time and become reunited with all our dead loved ones is the greatest hope one could possibly imagine. It makes this earthly suffering tolerable.

No doubt there are positive aspects in helping people realize the eternal. In doing so, some turn to view themselves as part of a larger plan or seek spiritual answers within their lives. However, many have posited that Christianity has overemphasized the afterlife to the determent of our lives on earth.

"The Christian religion and morality extols the glory of the Hereafter, and therefore remains indifferent to the horrors of the earth. Indeed, the idea of self-denial and of all that makes for pain and sorrow is its test of human worth, its passport to the entry into heaven." - Emma Goldman


The quote bites because, in too many cases it has been the true.

A few years ago I was surfing the channels and came upon Dr. Jack Van-Impe's stupefying television program (this is a one-stop show for laughs, Bible cherry-picking and fear-mongering). In this particular show, Van-Impe claimed that not only was global warming a hoax perpetrated by Al Gore, but that we could take comfort that even if it was real, "Jesus would be back soon" and it didn't really matter.

Just dawned on me that he goes by "Dr." Totally great way of getting some cheap creditability (speaking of creditability, posting ridiculous or bad photos of them is a cheap way to discredit someone.....but it's too fun not to). 

I'm not claiming most Christians think this way, just that it was an extreme example of focusing on the afterlife, rather than focusing on life here on earth.

Focusing on heaven narrows one's focus in our spiritual vision. If Christianity is reduced to just a personal relationship with Jesus and my personal salvation - how do others fit into the picture? Is it okay for the church to focus on eternal salvation while the rest of the world rots in a worldly hell?

"What, in fact, is the Absurd Man? He who, without negating it, does nothing for the eternal. Assured of his temporally limited freedom, of his revolt devoid of future, and of his mortal consciousness, he lives out his adventure within the span of his lifetime..." - Albert Camus


I don't mean to say Christians should agree with all of the above quote. Nor should we ever stop talking about the afterlife - it's just we shouldn't miss Camus' point.  The church needs to do a better job by focusing on our impermanence rather than the eternal soul. Our pastor recently said something that I have felt for a long time, "My goal isn't to get into heaven - but to be like Jesus". It's about being, not obtaining. Life is about the process not the end goal.

If we are focused on being like Jesus then people will be forced to notice. By focusing on the impermanence of life, we might actually increase the "harvest" of the eternal.