Restless Wonderer

In yesterday's post we saw that Jesus abandoned self-preservation and the pursuit of power in His descent to the cross.  We heard His call to lose our lives for His sake and the sake of the gospel.  How, then, are Christians supposed to cope with ambition?  The Bible acknowledges the dangers of ambition right from the beginning of its account of human existence.  The narrative of Genesis contains a powerful contrast between the tower-builders of Babel, who wanted to make a name for themselves (11:4), and Abraham, who, while abandoning comfort and civilisation in obedience to God, receives God's promise to make his name great (12:2).  The difference is that the builders were driven by a desire for self-protection and self-promotion ("otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth"), whereas God's intention in making Abraham's name great was to bring truth, hope and salvation to others through him ("I will make y...

Sometimes - like yesterday when I tried to explain to my children that the next solar eclipse won't be until they are adults - I am reminded powerfully of the transitory nature of life. We are born and we die and we seek meaning in the shadow of the awareness of our inevitable coming demise. Then I begin to wonder why it should be this way, or, perhaps more accurately, I wonder why I should care.  Why does death seem like such an enemy?  The answer Scripture gives is that we were made not for death, but for eternal life with God.  In light of the gospel, my confidence of the future resurrection and life with Christ gives me a certain hope that my own death will only be a transition to a richer life with Christ, but that knowledge doesn't automatically infuse my days with purpose. When I look at my children I see that they are carefree.  Death seems a long way away - even tomorrow seems a long  time away. Each moment is all that matters.  It reminds ...