163 Ardent Seeking

Meaning: “conveying a significance that is not directly expressed . . .”

If all that we have considered concerning meaning and adventure has not made you an ardent seeker by now, Gentle Reader, I have not spoken well enough of either one, because meaning gives rise to commitment and right meaning arouses passion in the seeker, and hopefully an appreciation of the adventure of it all, creating the ardent seeker.

Now, please note, Dear Reader, one must allow that some people search better for meaning than others. As we have seen, some rely on God in their searches and some don’t; and such a situation gives the unbeliever a definite handicap in that God describes Himself as the first and last word in meaning-making. One must even concede that some don’t search for meaning at all. But many of us (and certainly the thoughtful sort—in fact, even airhead debutantes) are ardent seekers and do search for meaning in the fellowship of God with relish and out of intellectual curiosity. Thank God!

Still, a further problem probable to suppose is that various searchers at one time or another may give up on the search, either permanently or intermittently. Yet there are many, many ardent seekers (and I pray I may always be one)—searchers who relish the enjoyment of the quest/its great rewards— who persevere in it; and even many who agree with me (as mentioned in the previous blog) upon the value of the quest and savor coming to terms with the meaning of life. For us, it is very rewarding to learn that, first and foremost, the adventure in life and the meaning of life is a loving relationship with the Father through a relationship with the Lord Jesus by the power of Holy Spirit.

As the life-time adventure unfolds, it is also extremely reassuring to ardent seekers to find that through Christ we are adopted members of the Godhead’s royal family (Ephesians 1:3-6, NKJV). And it is awesome to ardent seekers to grasp that we have access to God the Father Himself in Christ Jesus. What an adventure! What a privilege!

And then, and then, Dear Reader, when the ardent seeker begins to put all those realizations together and has her/his first great moment of overall insight and sees that the meaning of life is to belong to a Holy Family with an unlimited future; well, that moment to her/him is nothing short of one of the most gratifying and touching moments available on earth.

I see lots of people living this—the adventure of Christ’s meaningful life, Dear Reader; and to them I easily defer as either my superiors or my equal in thought, word and deed; or, regardless of their stage of growth, as very precious to God, at the very least (which is really not a least situation at all). I celebrate us all. My life, the life of other believers—though her/his life, not one is perfect. Yet each is or was or will be well worth living, shining examples of the profitability of the adventure of a meaningful life in the Son and membership in the Father’s eternal Holy Family.

I hope that for one and all, enjoyment in discovery of the meaning of life never ends. It is an adventure beyond compare. And as I come to a close on Implication #2: Meaning Making as an Adventure, I heartily congratulate all ardent seekers on their commitment to adventure in Christ Jesus and good use of their power of choice.

That’s life with true meaning!

To be continued . . .

162 Surrender

Meaning: “conveying a significance that is not directly expressed . . .”

I think it should be remembered, and I cannot put this too strongly, that “meaning” can run the gamut of positive to neutral to negative; interesting to neutral to disgusting; satisfying to irrelevant to discouraging. Not all clues are positive and useful, Gentle Reader. One must select for the best when looking for major implications of meaning.

And in the same vein, here one must finally confront what for many is a painful surrender. One must surrender one’s preference for certain thinking, surrender it to God, and embrace God’s thinking. God is reasonable, yes, but He cannot compromise His value system based on pure goodness.

One may prefer to believe some thinking that she/he has fashioned for her/his self, but if it conflicts with what He says in Scripture then one must surrender to the superiority of His thinking and TRUST that He is ALWAYS good.

Even if one does not see how that good works out in undeniable form, one and all, myself included, must select and embrace one’s meanings, one’s clues, one’s convictions with extreme caution, surrendering with alacrity any that are too self-serving (and, believe me, many of mine fit that category).

In the selection process, it is relevant to note that some clues are obvious and some obscure, Earnest Reader, some valuable and some misleading.

A habit of finding a lot of meaning in luxury cars can fill one’s head with a plethora of indicators for buying one (considering the expense that would entail, one should certainly agree that to be indulged, those clues should be very persuasive, at the least).

Find a lot of indicators for embracing a religion and one may find oneself joining it (again, a matter worth considerable evaluation). I cannot tell you just how many religious groups I have visited and found to be apparently seemly groups, only to later to find that the teachings by or in that group were a confusion of mixed messages. Not a good situation when teachings are a critical factor in the life of any group.

A group of “one mind”—the mind of Christ— as the Scripture describes it, is what is profitable to the believer, I can assure. Getting confused in what one believes is a favorite ploy of the Adversary. Groups that mix secular or preferential thinking into their “mindfulness” ultimately offer those in fellowship within that group only confusion and distress.

I have found that acquisition and application of major implications great or small most profitably proceed like this, Cautious Reader: (the dash means “leads to”) thought—meaning-seeking—clues—research—major implications—belief—commitment. By prayerfully following this path, I can greatly ensure that my commitment is worth the process.

Take this simple example: a woman may think “I like him.”

In pondering such a thought she may think “that means a lot to me.”

From that conclusion may come major implications and a belief, “I believe I could marry him.”

Her belief leads to commitment “I will say yes, if he asks me to marry him.”

This is a big commitment! And adequate meaning-seeking is obviously important here; one’s process must be credit-worthy.

This understanding on meaning-seeking has led me to hold firmly to one finding: If one has one’s process down pat, then one’s commitments will be far more worthwhile. Surrender of personal preference and embrace of God’s principles is the only sure safeguard in the selection process.

We all only have so much time, Gentle Reader, pointing to the necessity of worthy selecting of our commitments. Then and only then, may one throw oneself into rightful, valuable (to self and others), and ardent meaning-seeking.

To be continued . . .

161 Strange Attractor

Meaning: “conveying a significance that is not directly expressed . . .”

In this second week of the New Year, Thoughtful Reader, I have decided that it is well for me to make fresh commitment to that which I believe best serves the soul—living a meaningful life.

Thankfully, my most reliable source, Scripture, tells me clearly what best serves the soul, what constitutes a meaningful life. In Scripture, it is promised that a soul is best served by receiving God’s purpose, plan, will and delight as the sum total, overall, be-all-and-end-all meaning of life! And for this truth there is truly no substitute. And there is truly reason to celebrate. He who embraces such a concept experiences that all things fall into place around it, eventuating enduring meanings, adventure and delightful relationships! Life comes into focus. It makes sense.

Yes, it’s true, Gentle Reader, It is meaning that reminds one daily of the desirability of life, the rarity of the treasure of life. And that particular meaning is more than enough reason for me to conclude and hold dear the (now) fact (to me) that life does, indeed, have meaning. You will never get me to let go, certainly of this one unearthed meaning, that life is a fine idea, straight from the finest mind of them all—God, and that He means for me (and you) to profit from it for all time. How fortunate we are!

But how did I get here, arrive at this cornerstone understanding? The answer is simple.

In addition to applying my formula of enjoyment + curiosity = adventure, I add attraction!

I always was and am attracted by goodness. Goodness is a “strange attractor” to me. It warms my soul. I melt in the face of it. It spontaneously calls out the better person in me.

But it is due to the Holy Spirit that I am only attracted to the goodness of Christ and the Holy Trinity. Mere mortal fabrications of goodness never satisfy me. I yearn for divine goodness. I think, truth-be-known, that we all do.

From this strange attraction to goodness (forgive me if I borrow perhaps too freely from a Chaos Theory term—strange attractors—but order out of chaos, the function generally speaking of a strange attractor, is a good thing; so maybe not); I sense and derive several things (applied pressure of Holy Spirit, I assure you). Principally, I sense that good meaning in life is necessary for life, or else one’s life is just too depressing to contemplate.

Further, I sense (thank you, again, Holy Spirit) that though often not readily apparent, good meaning is what I value—I want—something that must be sought, is necessary for survival itself and something that is very real.

I don’t think I am alone in sensing these things. Holy Spirit works in any receptive person. And I know other people also sense that the pursuit of meaningfulness is desirable and worthwhile, because they tell me so. They too find that good is strangely attractive and that good meaning is out there and can be found. And they desire to answer to its beckoning call.

But the caveat remains that to find meaning, especially good meaning, one must ardently seek it. This caveat is the lock down, bolt down directive in and of itself. Ardent seeking is imperative. So ardent seeking became my motto, is my motto. . .but not before I learned about surrender.

To be continued . . .

160 Hebrews 11:6

Meaning: “conveying a significance that is not directly expressed . . .”

As the Season of Christmas continues and the New Year begins, Attentive Reader, one can ensure a good start to the year by remembering that Scripture guarantees that when the adventurer perseveres in believing God through hard times, even when the adventure is not all positive and enjoyable, rewards will come (Hebrews 11:6).

In fact, taping this scripture on a column in the house or under a magnet on the refrigerator where it is easy to see (implying it should be looked at often) could be the single most encouraging thing one could do for oneself in this whole year! I have included the verse below for your and my inspiration:

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6, NKJV)

Even though we live in a fallen world where others can sin against one, or one can stumble and sin against one’s self (all on one’s own), or, of course, where one can sin against others also; God’s guarantee still applies. Though, and here is a great sadness, ultimately, Scripture asserts all sin is primarily against God. Such is the deep-rootedness of the “fall.” Yet, thankfully, (and here is a great reward!) sin is not as frequent as before becoming a believer! And, thankfully, in Christ Jesus (another great reward!) we believers are continually being cleansed of sin (1 John 1:7, NKJV).

For me, a highly precious reward among those many to come from God is that the hard road I may have to travel now, I am assured, will seem as nothing when I finally arrive in eternity in Christ Jesus. What a promise! What a gift! A gift brought to us by the first arrival of God on earth in the form of this tiny baby we remember with such yearning and tingling anticipation each year and for whom this pinnacle day of our winter holidays is named—Jesus Christ of Nazareth—the soul of Christmas!

When a difficult “adventure” befalls one, Precious Believer, it is the believer’s great guarantee from God that she/he can seek and will find great rewards, solutions and benefits in Him, even if not immediately or even quickly, or exactly in the form she/he may desire. Guaranteed also, until then, ah . . . until then, the pain will act like brine on tough meat, tenderizing the believer, a precious outcome.

Unfair, one may say, I don’t want to undergo any painful improvement process! And yes, a painful self-improvement process is rarely highly desirable on anyone’s list. Think of how physical fitness buffs constantly have to psych themselves up to their efforts with the phrase “no pain, no gain” in order to sustain their formidable disciplines. They know the cost of self-improvement and embrace it.

But well-remember, Gentle Reader, the benefit of self-improvement processes is real and a great reward in itself.

Consider these examples: For believers, there is, as mentioned, the tenderizing benefit, and beyond that, there are the benefits of training in stick-to-it-tiveness, training in reliance upon and gracious acceptance of God’s often mysterious but always good will and ways, training in the practice of conscious belief in promised rewards in Jesus the Christ. All are self-improvements well worth the adventure; all are treasures to the believer and only grow more so as time goes by.

So already, in just these few examples above, one can see lasting good emerging from evil, even painful, situations and circumstances. And one can also see perhaps that, indeed, these are fine rewards, precious rewards, better than ever rewards! And that they are rewards well worth the effort.

Thanks be to God!

To be continued . . .