Wouldn't It Be Nice...

You can always trust Calvin to get right to the heart of the matter. 

We've been doing a series at GCC (and you can pretty much always assume that we'll be in the middle of a series. I've yet to see a standalone sermon. Slightly annoying. Anyway.) called Fair Questions. And really, it's been a good series thus far. The first week was about the Problem of Pain. (Well, suffering, but in Philosophy 111, we called it The Problem of Pain. Most of what I remember from that class is one big headache, one big cheating scandal - not involving me - and a really cool Prof who talked over my head 90% of the time. I think I got an 'A' because I was one of the five or so who didn't cheat. Definitely not because I understand philosophy.) The second week was asking if science disproves God. We'll have to see what the next few questions bring, but I can guess, because the pastor has been preaching straight out of The Case for Faith by Lee Stroebel. Good book, I would recommend it if you're less concerned about the emotional aspects of faith and want something intellectual to back it up.

This whole series, though, has me asking questions of my own. They aren't new questions - I've been asking them since before the summer after seventh grade when I finally had to accept that those questions weren't going to have easy answers, and I couldn't keep waiting for them and stay on the straight and narrow at the same time.

I haven't stopped asking these questions, though. I don't think I should. I have a whole list just waiting for Kingdom come, and while the answers don't change what I believe, they do change how that belief defines my life. I believe that part of being a Christian is a continuing exercise in asking questions and seeking truth. If we're seeking truth, we're seeking God, and God always finds us when we seek Him.

Now over the years, I have had some questions answered, some questions that led to other questions, and a complete lack of questions about some things that really bother other people. (For example, I've never really questioned the Trinity. I'm not saying I can completely wrap my head around it, but I've never questioned its existence or how each nature interacts with us. The Trinity just is.) However, there is one question, and it's pretty big, to which I have never been given a satisfactory answer. What is it?

Why do people even exist?

And okay, I know part of the answer. We exist to praise God and serve Him and to take care of this Earth on which He has put us.

But why even bother with people in the first place? We're annoying. We screw up everything we touch. More often than not, we choose to turn our backs on our Creator and try to tell Him He doesn't exist. In my human eyes, we are more trouble than we're worth.

Don't get me wrong. Most of the time, I am thrilled to be here. I love interacting with the world God created. I love learning new things and exploring.

But there are many times when I'm sick and tired of it. There are times when I look around and I ask, why did God ever think this was a good idea?

I'm not sure I'll ever have the answer in this life.

But I'm not going to stop trying to find it.