Engines

Inspired once again by CS Lewis

In our previous post, we had a discussion for another day. Well it turns out today is that day! We discovered that God created us with the capacity to fulfilled, but what fulfills us?

Well, I can't think of a good way to start this, so we'll start off with a statement to think about:

Our quest for fulfillment drives most (if not all) of our decisions, and most of the time, this quest brings us to places that ultimately can't fulfill us.

TIMEOUT

I know at this point you're probably skeptical. We don't make decisions with something in the back of our mind saying "this will fulfill me". For example, you realize that a partier doesn't say, "I'm going to get wasted tonight because I know it will fulfill me". And that is definitely true. We don't specifically say, "I'm going to do X for my fulfillment", but we do say, "I'm going to do X because it's fun!" Many of the things we do are in the name of fun, enjoyment, and happiness. In other words, many of the things we do are in the name of satisfaction. Uh oh, doesn't that mean many of the things we do are in the name of fulfillment?

With that said, let's ask a few questions. Why do some of us spend a weekend partying to get so drunk that we can't remember anything? Why do some of us eagerly await the next one night stand with a near stranger? More subtly, why do workaholics sacrifice their families in their drive for success? Why do guys watch a terrible TV show just to oggle at a hot actress? Why does Alice hinge all of her happiness on her relationship with Phil?

Yep, unfortunately the answer is we are looking for fulfillment. Whether we are experiencing the fun of a party, the "score" of a one night stand, the thrill of a promotion, lustful fantasies, a significant other, or any other thing of this world, we do most of what we do to satisfy ourselves.

Alright, so now that we do these things in search of satisfaction, we need to figure out if these things actually satisfy us. Well I'll ask a few more questions. Can Phil really meet all of Alice's needs 100% of the time? When the guys' TV show ends, do they desire seeing less of the actress or more? When the workaholic reaches vice president, do they stop or work more to attain president? Does a one night stand bring one to a satisfying relationship or a desire for more one night stands? Finally, does an awesome party leave one desiring a break or more awesome parties?

I think you see the point. The funny thing about all of these things is that pursuing them for fulfillment leads to pursuing them for more fulfillment. Life becomes a sea of dissatisfaction sprinkled with small pockets of temporary satisfaction.

Well crap. God created us with this gap, and we can't fill it. This could bring us to despair, but the amazing thing is that He's given us the answer. I could try to explain this, but CS Lewis explains it much better than any of my attempts:

"God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."

In other words, trying to fulfill ourselves with something of this world is like trying to run an engine on carrot juice. God made us so that we will sputter and break down apart from Him. Even better, God made us so we will run immaculately when we pursue Him for satisfaction. Life now becomes a sea of fulfillment and peace.

Ah, so we've answered our original question! God fulfills us and nothing else.

To be continued...

Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty..."
John 6:35

Imprints

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:26-27

Whenever you hear the story about our creation, you hear, "We were created in God's image". Above is the reference to the Bible for that, but (for me at least) it's easy to read that and pass it by without fully understanding or appreciating what "God's image" actually means. So let's start out defining what image means:

image: A reproduction of the form of a person or object
or
image: One that closely or exactly resembles another

Hmm, so now applying this to "God's image" we get...A reproduction of the form of God? One that closely or exactly resembles God??!? Surely this can't be so...we're talking about the all-knowing, all-powerful, all-loving Creator of the Universe! Not to be harsh, but I don't think you or I have ever created a Universe. I know you and I don't know what's going to happen ten minutes from now, much less knowing everything that has happened, is happening, or will happen, to everyone that has existed, is existing, or will exist!

Alright, now that we all feel really tiny (it kind of feels good doesn't it?), let's move on. Our previous sobering moment reveals to us that "God's image" definitely does not mean we were created to be God. We aren't created to be replications of God, and we aren't created to be reproductions of the forms of God.

If you look carefully at the beginning Bible passage, you see the phrase "in our likeness". God is talking about Himself, so let's rephrase it to: "in God's likeness". Alright...so "God's image" == "God's likeness", what the heck does likeness mean?

likeness: The state, quality, or fact of being like; resemblance.
or
likeness: An imitative appearance; a semblance.

I think we're getting somewhere now...likeness implies "having qualities", so you created in God's likeness means you were created having qualities of God! Wow...let's figure out where that fits in your life.

God's image is what makes humanity so unique in this world. When God created you, He breathed into you the ability to experience joy, fall in love, enjoy sunsets, write poetry, sing songs, and create works of art. He gave you a mind that can reason, learn, and adapt. He instilled into you the drive to succeed, your hopes, and your dreams. He gave you the gift to not only live life, but to enjoy life!

Even further, He created us with the capacity to be fulfilled. Fulfilled on what? Well, that's a discussion for another day =D To wrap all this up, anytime you're down or questioning anything, remember that God imprinted a piece of Himself inside of you. Every time you hear, "You were created in God's image", think about what that really means!

I'm off to Spring Break! Hope everyone has a good week.

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well."
Psalm 139:14

Foreigners

You are a comet. You are new at this whole comet thing, but in your travels you come across an average star holding nine planets in orbit. Eventually you arrive to a quaint little blue planet and you notice something remarkable. The previous planets you have seen have been beautiful, but they have been desolate, cold, and lifeless. This blue one falls into none of those categories.

You are stunned as you see vast oceans, lush forests, expansive deserts, and majestic mountain ranges. You marvel at herds of hulking elephants thundering below graceful flocks of birds. You are drawn to the swift creatures of the sea and the powerful beasts of the plains. This planet is alive.

Then you notice something quite peculiar. On this planet also resides animal-like creatures, but they behave quite differently than the rest of the planet's life. They know how to build buildings, drive cars, and they spend a lot of their time communicating about what seems to be nothing. All of the other life you have seen to this point seems content with their environment, but these animals are different. They seem to have some sort of control over their natural habitat and can manipulate their surroundings. Now you wonder, how can this happen?

You fly your comet self closer to the planet and come across some strange conversations. You hear some of these creatures talking of "When we evolved from animals" and other things of that sort. You become confused. You realize that these creatures are similar to many creatures of this planet in biological makeup, but your observations made them remarkably different than the rest of the animals.

Coming back to real life, I think this comet was onto something. If you take a hard look at nature around us, we share many traits with our fellow inhabitants of earth. On a rough level, we share bodily functions and methods of mobility with most animals on this planet. But as the comet noticed, any observations after that point place us humans as quite foreign to the world around us.

I freely admit I am no scientist, but have you noticed that most natural cycles occur with the intent of preserving nature itself? Photosysntesis is a good example. A plant consumes carbon dioxide, makes oxygen, then animals and people breath oxygen and produce carbon dioxide. On the same note, ecosystems have elaborate food webs and food chains that keep the ecosystem going.

Now when humans enter the picture, everything changes. Through the rise and fall of civilizations, humans have destroyed, modified, and utilized the natural environments around them. We cultivate crops, clear forests, and shape landscapes to meet our needs. That does not sound very natural at all. It sounds alien to nature's self-preserving goals. So, this brings us to the comet's dilemma: If man's goals are detrimental to nature's goals, then did man really come from nature? More specifically, if man seems a foreigner to this earth, then how could he evolve from it?

This leads us to the next questions: If man did not evolve, then was he created? And if he was created, where did this "alienness" come from?

These will be explored in future posts =D

Spring Break Katrina Relief

A few friends of mine and I are going to New Orleans for Spring Break (March 18-24) to assist the Katrina relief effort. If you want to join us, please email me at brian.g AT gatech.edu. Please email me before you register so we can work out logistics and things like that.

It will cost $30 up until March 4th, then $50 after that. All housing, food, and tools will be provided for us by the organizers of the event (Campus Crusade for Christ). Now for how to register:

• go to the site: http://www.katrinaspringbreak.com
• Click on the registration link
• Go to the New Orleans section, then click on the March 18-24 section
• Fill out your information and pay the fee. When it asks for the group, put Brian Geihsler's Group.
• For the arrival time, put 6PM.
  

After you have finished the registration, check out the site for more information about what things to bring. Make sure to print and fill out the legal forms and bring them when we leave on March 18th. We have tentatively planned to leave at 6 am on that Saturday morning and making a straight shot to New Orleans. Hope to see you there!

Ant Hills

Today a friend of mine brought up a heated debate they've had with some of their friends. I never thought an argument would arise involving Bill Gates and Mother Theresa, but alas, I'm not right on many things. So if you want to know what this is all about, I ask that you read this small article.

In summary, the author states that Bill Gates has done more for humanity than Mother Theresa. He claims Bill Gates has had a bigger impact on this world because his massive profits and philanthropy efforts have had profound effects on the society around him. Now when we read something this controversal, we usually react both passionately and immediately. Some of us ring out in applause, and others of us squirm in anger. Whatever your reaction, I ask that you put it aside for a moment while we examine these statements and hopefully discover how much truth they contain.

Imagine we are all ants, and the ant piles we create are the wealth we earn, the money we make, the jobs we create, and the assistance we give to other people to earn wealth, make money, and create jobs. Living in our own little ant world, when we come across somebody like Mother Theresa, we probably won't see much of an ant pile. She chose to live a life of poverty in order to serve others in worse poverty. When we look at Bill Gates' pile, it would be enourmous. His efforts at Microsoft and philanthropy have produced countless jobs, charity donations, and unfathomable wealth. Bill Gates has built an ant pile so tall that we wouldn't see the top of it when standing next to it. We would probably have to build our antpiles so we could support his! So, when looking at this from our ant perspective, the author is 100% correct.

Now, let's imagine that our little ant world exists on a really large mountain. Let's also switch gears and pretend we are this mountain. Being enormous, we see each ant pile as basically the same. One really huge ant pile is so small compared to us that its size compared to other ant piles really doesn't matter. To us, Mother Theresa's ant pile looks really similar to Bill Gates' ant pile.

Bringing us back to real life...what if God is this mountain? Even though it is impossible, place yourself in His shoes. Think about seeing civilizations rise and fall as if they were houses of cards. Imagine being so vast that all the wealth, treasure, gold, and money in the world becomes dust. Even though Bill Gates' wealth and tangible contributions could be a bigger speck of dust than Mother Theresa's, it's still just a speck of dust. When you're standing at infinity, 1,000,000,000,000 and 1 become trivial. God is not interested in quantity.

If He is not interested in quantity, what is He interested in? Thankfully, Jesus addressed this issue many times while He walked the earth. I ask that you read Mark 12:41-44 before you continue.

As you can see from that passage, Jesus saw many people giving large sums of money. From our perspective, they contributed more than the woman. However, Jesus said the woman gave more. Why? God is not interested in how many dollars we give, how many jobs we create, or even how many people we help. God is interested in what is behind those things. God does not want our wealth. He wants our hearts and minds.

Only God is the judge of these things, but while Bill Gates has accumulated vast amounts of wealth and used it for the good of many people, Mother Theresa is like that poor woman who gave everything to God. When we reach the end of our lives, our ant piles will blow away in the wind and wash away in the rain. The mountain will stand for all time =D

"All men are like grass, and their glory is like the flowers in the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever."

Isaiah 40:6-8