In the movie, "Cool Hand Luke", Paul Newman, as he enters an old church after running for his life, says, “Old Man, whadaya got planned for me? What’s next? Whadaya put me on earth for?”
As we begin a new year, even before making our resolutions, it‘s worth asking, “Why am I here?” Perhaps, like Jerry Kramer, an outstanding football player with the Green Bay Packers of old, there are times when we, too, say, “There’s got to be more to life than this.” Which perhaps is another way of asking, “How meaningful is my life?”
We want to find meaning in what we do…why we are here. Finding meaning in life begins with believing in who we are and whose we are. For the moment, I would like to focus on the first part…Who Am I? Though we strive to put up a beautiful façade, what most defines us is what’s inside our heart. God says to us, “People look at the outside appearance, but I look at the heart.” (1Sam16:7). And nothing reveals what’s in our heart more than our dreams, our convictions, what we stand for.
Most of us are familiar with Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream and convictions from his “I Have A Dream” speech, which speaks of equality and brotherhood and hope. But there was a private dream he shared, just as inspirational, wherein he said just a few days before he was killed,
“I’d like for somebody to say that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody…that I did try to feed the hungry…to clothe the naked…that I tried to be right on the war question. And all the other shallow things will not matter. I won’t have any money to leave behind. I won’t have the fine and luxurious things in life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind.”
What are you committed to? To what do you want to give your heart?
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I must admit that my initial response was to say because of my upbringing. My parents would take the family to church every Sunday. Eventually, they began having problems and stopped going to church. However, I still had the catholic school education for most of my life. That foundation does make a difference when your young, and see and believe there is no answer to conflict (parents drama). As I got older, I have had many moments of challenging my belief in God. I continue to hold onto my faith with a spark that hangs in my heart. I notice that when I go to church that spark grows stronger and more vivid. It does make a difference to go to church on Sundays on both your faith and belief in GOD.
ReplyDeleteWhy do I believe in God? To what do I want to give my heart? What am I committed to? Many questions and surprisingly not so easy answers.
ReplyDeleteThe hardest one- why do I believe in God- the beauty of creation comes to mind but it is more than that- it started with meaning- with my need for meaning in my life. Without believing in God, in a personal loving God- there is only darkness, so deep that it leads to despair. Somehow, I found God at the same time I faced and acknowledged this bottomless darkness inside myself. From then on, it has been a journey to find a closer relationship to that undefinable, and yet so present God, to the reality of God and his presence. To learn to see him in all things, in all events of my life, to be willing to do his will however painful it maybe to let go of my control- follow my dreams and yet be willing to let go of them. How real God becomes through pain and tears. To learn to be grateful for this life, to accept myself as God’s beloved creation, to learn to love this life as a gift from God no matter what, whatever the ups and downs, and yes, the desire to please him, to learn to see, to listen, to hear, and lately, to fall in love with God.
To what do I want to give my heart- to find God in my everyday life, to become deeper aware of his presence, connect to him, in relationships, both when I love with all my heart and when I feel rejected and distant, and in nature, when I create things, when I follow a new idea or inspiration, explore new paths or wait and hold still when all doors seem closed..
To what am I committed to- to trust and stay open for where ever he will take me. Ingrid.
I believe because the most important people in my life- my friends, the people I love and admire, my role models and guides- believe.
ReplyDeleteWhy do I believe in God? Because I feel His presence in my life and I personally can tell you what my life was like for me before I acknowelged His presence.
ReplyDeleteI went about living my life they way I wanted to but I always had an emptiness inside. Something was missing in my life but I didn't know what it was. It wasn't until I had my personal encounter with God that I knew what I had been missing. I realized that He was always with me even when I didnt acknowledge Him or I thought that I was alone.
How could I not believe in Him? What are the alternatives? Honestly, at first it was a struggle for me to believe things in "faith". It was hard to accept something that had no logic to me, but I opened my heart to Him and asked for His grace and for faith and here I am today. I have accepted the fact that I do not need to understand everything I just have to believe.
What has helped my faith is prayer, scripture and the trials that I have encountered in my life. As I walk along this journey, I see more than ever how real God really is. "Seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened." This is so very true. All one has to do is ask for the truth and follow the way.