SPIRITUAL MAINTENANCE
Since I’m now not
supposed to be jerking lanyards on hard-to-start engines, my old 2-cycle weed
whacker must go. Yesterday for 150 dollars I replaced it with a 40 volt Ryobi
which as it turns out I like better using to trim and edge my large lawn. For
one thing I don’t have to wear ear muffs while operating.
While buzzing
along slicing and slashing the green I got to wondering how much thought, time,
effort, and money we invest in maintenance of all kinds. In no particular
consistent order I ran through categories inorganic and organic, physical,
medical, pharmaceutical, dental, vision, glasses, infrastructures, tools,
appliances, vehicles, relationships, larders, roof, siding, windows, computers,
telephones, nails, hair, skin, plumbing, electrical systems, apparel, trees,
flowers et al . . . I gave up and decided A LOT, concluding that which should
be list topper is too often far down our register, some days not at all considered.
This morning I
sat staring at the monitor before me, clueless as to what to write.
Wait, what was it
I was thinking about yesterday?
Going to
GotQuestions.org I typed in “spiritual maintenance” and read the following. EBB4
Can man
live without God?
This is a complex question with much going on in deeper levels. What does it mean to "live"? Just to exist, or to find great meaning in one's existence? To breathe in and out, heart beating, mind thinking? Or is living something deeper and more spiritual? And what does "without God" mean? That He doesn't exist at all, or that He isn't an integral part of life? Scientists define "life" by several factors: existence, growth, ability to respond to stimuli, self-maintenance, and the ability to reproduce. According to these criteria, do we need God to live?
On the surface, the question is simple: could life (plant, insect, human) have come into being without the influence of a sentient, outside, extra-physical force? Of course, this question has been argued for centuries, both sides alternating between extolling their view and condemning the other. Those discussions can be found elsewhere. According to the Bible, God is the cause of all aspects of life. John 1:3 explains that God caused us to exist: "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made," (see also Genesis 1; Psalm 139:13). Also, 1 Corinthians 15:42-49 promises complete, imperishable life in the future. Colossians 1:17 says that God maintains creation—"He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." Psalm 104 vividly describes how God both maintains life on earth and causes it to grow (see also Genesis 1:29-30; Psalm 41:3, 65:10, 92:12; Matthew 5:45). God gave humanity the ability and responsibility to respond to stimuli in Genesis 1:28: "…fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground." And He not only charged us to reproduce (Genesis 1:28a), He controls our fertility (Genesis 20:18, 29:31, 30:22; 1 Samuel 1:5-6).
According to the Bible, then, God is clearly involved in every aspect of life. But most people consider life to be more than a physiologically animated condition. They want something more intangible, spiritual, like purpose and a connection to others outside of themselves. The Bible teaches that only God provides spiritual life (John 3:16). In John 10:10, Jesus says, "…I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." 2 Corinthians 3:18 promises we will grow in this life—"And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is Spirit." Jesus promises that He will maintain this spiritual life in us: "...I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand" (John 10:28). His empowerment allows us to respond spiritually (Galatians 5:22-23). And He gives us the power (John 20:21-22) and the authority (Matthew 28:19-20) to reproduce this spiritual life. God is necessary for spiritual life. John 1:4 says of Jesus, "In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind." Full, meaningful life is only found in Jesus.
We cannot influence whether God is necessary for physical life—He either exists or He doesn't; He's either directly involved, or He isn't. But many do attempt to find spiritual life without God—in fact, the wisest man in history tried. Without the power of the Holy Spirit, however, he had to try to find spiritual meaning in physical things. Solomon couldn't create himself, he couldn't bring himself into existence, but he could easily see how out of his control existence was. Ecclesiastes 3:19 says, "For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity." Ecclesiastes 2:3-10 describe how Solomon tried to grow by multiplying what he thought was life—riches, food, pleasures, even the beauty of nature. But in verse 11, he says, "Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun." Solomon did find that he could spiritually respond to this spiritual life, but it wasn't the kind of response any of us would find attractive—"So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind" (Ecclesiastes 2:17). Solomon had a lot to say about work—the vehicle by which we maintain our lives. In Ecclesiastes 2:22-23 he says, "For what does a man get in all his labor and in his striving with which he labors under the sun? Because all his days his task is painful and grievous; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is vanity." He also sought to maintain his spiritual life through wisdom (Ecclesiastes 2:16), but quickly realized that even wisdom doesn't guarantee a fulfilled existence. Finally, he found that reproduction without God feels more like being robbed than leaving a part of oneself for posterity. Ecclesiastes 2:21 says, "When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge and skill, then he gives his legacy to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil."
Solomon sums up his findings in Ecclesiastes 2:24-25: "There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen, that it is from the hand of God. For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?" The wisest man who ever lived discovered that the simplest things in life—eating, drinking, and working—is only profitable if we include God.
This is a complex question with much going on in deeper levels. What does it mean to "live"? Just to exist, or to find great meaning in one's existence? To breathe in and out, heart beating, mind thinking? Or is living something deeper and more spiritual? And what does "without God" mean? That He doesn't exist at all, or that He isn't an integral part of life? Scientists define "life" by several factors: existence, growth, ability to respond to stimuli, self-maintenance, and the ability to reproduce. According to these criteria, do we need God to live?
On the surface, the question is simple: could life (plant, insect, human) have come into being without the influence of a sentient, outside, extra-physical force? Of course, this question has been argued for centuries, both sides alternating between extolling their view and condemning the other. Those discussions can be found elsewhere. According to the Bible, God is the cause of all aspects of life. John 1:3 explains that God caused us to exist: "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made," (see also Genesis 1; Psalm 139:13). Also, 1 Corinthians 15:42-49 promises complete, imperishable life in the future. Colossians 1:17 says that God maintains creation—"He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." Psalm 104 vividly describes how God both maintains life on earth and causes it to grow (see also Genesis 1:29-30; Psalm 41:3, 65:10, 92:12; Matthew 5:45). God gave humanity the ability and responsibility to respond to stimuli in Genesis 1:28: "…fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground." And He not only charged us to reproduce (Genesis 1:28a), He controls our fertility (Genesis 20:18, 29:31, 30:22; 1 Samuel 1:5-6).
According to the Bible, then, God is clearly involved in every aspect of life. But most people consider life to be more than a physiologically animated condition. They want something more intangible, spiritual, like purpose and a connection to others outside of themselves. The Bible teaches that only God provides spiritual life (John 3:16). In John 10:10, Jesus says, "…I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." 2 Corinthians 3:18 promises we will grow in this life—"And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is Spirit." Jesus promises that He will maintain this spiritual life in us: "...I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand" (John 10:28). His empowerment allows us to respond spiritually (Galatians 5:22-23). And He gives us the power (John 20:21-22) and the authority (Matthew 28:19-20) to reproduce this spiritual life. God is necessary for spiritual life. John 1:4 says of Jesus, "In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind." Full, meaningful life is only found in Jesus.
We cannot influence whether God is necessary for physical life—He either exists or He doesn't; He's either directly involved, or He isn't. But many do attempt to find spiritual life without God—in fact, the wisest man in history tried. Without the power of the Holy Spirit, however, he had to try to find spiritual meaning in physical things. Solomon couldn't create himself, he couldn't bring himself into existence, but he could easily see how out of his control existence was. Ecclesiastes 3:19 says, "For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity." Ecclesiastes 2:3-10 describe how Solomon tried to grow by multiplying what he thought was life—riches, food, pleasures, even the beauty of nature. But in verse 11, he says, "Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun." Solomon did find that he could spiritually respond to this spiritual life, but it wasn't the kind of response any of us would find attractive—"So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind" (Ecclesiastes 2:17). Solomon had a lot to say about work—the vehicle by which we maintain our lives. In Ecclesiastes 2:22-23 he says, "For what does a man get in all his labor and in his striving with which he labors under the sun? Because all his days his task is painful and grievous; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is vanity." He also sought to maintain his spiritual life through wisdom (Ecclesiastes 2:16), but quickly realized that even wisdom doesn't guarantee a fulfilled existence. Finally, he found that reproduction without God feels more like being robbed than leaving a part of oneself for posterity. Ecclesiastes 2:21 says, "When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge and skill, then he gives his legacy to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil."
Solomon sums up his findings in Ecclesiastes 2:24-25: "There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen, that it is from the hand of God. For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?" The wisest man who ever lived discovered that the simplest things in life—eating, drinking, and working—is only profitable if we include God.
© Copyright 2011-2013 Got
Questions Ministries.
No comments:
Post a Comment