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.

Hostel Internet

Every website that I visited that is connected in any way with Google is in Polish. Shouldn't they intuitively know I am an American in Poland? Sheesh. (Incidentally, variations of that word mean both 'hi' and 'six' in Polish. I can't explain it either.)

So, I've been in Poland for more than a week, but this is the first time that I have actually had a) internet access and b) more than two minutes to sit down and write something. Things were crazy at the English camp! We had about 55 students, all with varying levels of English ability. We had to do quite a bit of adapting on the fly, which is always frustrating and challenging. I think we ended up with some really good stuff, though, and I hope the students were able to learn and have fun at the same time.

We are now in Krakow, staying at a hostel just off the city square. We spent the day in Auschwitz. It was miserable, first because of the subject matter, and second because of the weather. My umbrella is pretty much trashed from the wind and rain. I don't think I've dried out yet. It was definitely appropriate ambiance for the concentration camps, though. It was more than sobering - it was horrifying. As someone who has spent no small amount of time studying World War II, I found the whole experience provided some excellent perspective. It was definitely interesting to hear things from several different points of view. Our tour guide certainly didn't pull any punches. It was also interesting to see just how little is left of Birkenau. I have to clarify somewhat, because Birkenau is absolutely huge. It covers quite a few square kilometers, but the Germans tried to destroy most of it when they realized the Red Army was about to arrive. Very little has been restored at Birkenau, but I could easily have spent another two hours just walking around the camp.

I could also spend all of this post talking about what I saw today, but I will refrain.

Poland, like most of Europe, feels very old and quaint. I keep taking photos, but I don't think any of them will do it justice. Besides, you don't want to see 1300 photos from my trip, anyway.



I may post again tomorrow, but in all honesty, I probably won't post anything until I'm back home. I need to organize my thoughts. For now, I will bid you adieu.