Gentle Reader,
I stumbled into the world of teenage YouTube today.
Thankful I am that the platform didn’t exist when I was younger. The videos that I and my friends would have posted… #drama
Please, young people: Don’t share anything and everything.
Kate says: why.
Go.
Pause the nature documentary and Google: Why does this frog do that?
Watch the Olympics and wonder: Why did anyone ever think that cross-country skiing and shooting at clay targets should get together and have the baby that is the biathlon?
Scroll through my news feed and ask: Why another school shooting?
“Why” is an odd word. We use it in the context of gathering information. We use it sarcastically. We sigh it and scream it in the face of tragedy that has no answer.
The fundamental human question.
Animals don’t seek. They operate on instinct. They don’t want or need to know.
We do. We’re haunted by the want and the need. The answers we find lead to more questions. We long for the fullness of knowledge, but it remains just beyond our reach. That, I think, is a sign of the aching for eternity that the wise man tells us God placed in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11). We can’t fit it all neatly in a box.
We desperately need the One who can.
Stop.
Amen! I’m so glad we have Jesus to give us hope until all things are made new! (I’m still chuckling over the ‘baby that is the biathalon’–I’ve always wondered the same thing. Really? Who cross country skis and shoots things? I think the shooting is just a way to show off a superior cardio-vascular system).
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I’m two weeks behind here…
My Bible study group is just finishing the book of Ruth. The author of our study (Nicki Koziarz) points out that Ruth’s job was to be faithful in the moment. To believe that God would respond. She didn’t know how or when, just that He would. Such a good example of faith. I want to be like that.
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Marie, you said it so well: “I think, is a sign of the aching for eternity that the wise man tells us God placed in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11). We can’t fit it all neatly in a box.”
We can’t fit every circumstance into a box and wrap it up with a neat little bow. Some things in life are beyond understanding and we need to trust the One who does understand. Loved your post, friend.
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I’m two weeks behind here….
I think that, when we’re in Heaven, one facet of our eternal worship of Him will be in hearing stories. I think He’ll tell us all about the times that didn’t make sense and how He was working but we couldn’t see it. What fun that will be!
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This made me smile. Thanks 🙂
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I’m two weeks behind here….
Thank you, Somer! I’m glad this brought you some joy. 🙂
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I don’t know what we did without Google to provide the answers to all the random questions that come up when watching TV etc! 🙂 But then there are the bigger questions, the ones Google will never be able to answer. I like your reflection that this is a sign of our aching for eternity.
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I’m two weeks behind here….
We used to talk about the dominance of Google when I worked at the library. Turns out that the Reference Desk used to be hopping. People had all kinds of questions and it took a librarian with a lot of skill and know-how to find the answers for them. I love me some Google, but I can’t help but think we’ve lost something special.
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Biathlon actually makes a lot of sense; it showcases needed military skills in northern countries, skills that the Finns put to good use when invaded by the Soviets, and the Norwegian Resistance used to deny the Nazis heavy water for their putative atomic bomb.
Sometimes I have the horrible feeling that God gave us ‘why?’ as an almost holy responsibility, one in which action can nonetheless not be necessarily predicated on understanding.
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I’m two weeks behind here…
That’s really interesting, Andrew. I learned something new today. It just never entered my mind that cross-country skiing and shooting would go together like that.
I think you’re right about “why.” We have to sit with it. Live in it. But we don’t always get the answer.
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Yes friend! Amen!
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I’m two weeks behind here….
I love your enthusiasm when you comment, Tara. You are definitely one of the encouragers!
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Marie, as frequently happens, your post prompted me to pause and reflect. I looked up Ecclesiastes 3:11 in the AMP translation and found this, “…He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end.” Oh my. “A mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God…” I believe that some answers are reserved for eternity. In the meanwhile, our hearts break and we learn again and again to trust Him, even when we do not understand, and accept His comfort. Thank you, Marie.
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I’m two weeks behind here…
Such a good word, Esther. Some answers are reserved for eternity, and we have to keep trusting Him. It’s not easy. Thankfully, He is always here, ready to give us strength and grace for every moment.
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