image from patheos.com
One of my closest lifetime friendships was forged in high school and college. Ken and I then both followed Jesus, both left, only I returned. Ken has trekked the world. His innate curiosity and hunger for knowledge has led him to many worship events, in many faiths. During one of our conversations on his yearly trip back to the states, he offered, “Worship is funny. I visit my parents’ evangelical Christian worship, or that of my Muslim friends, and they all look the same.”
Ken saw an outer similarity, but missed the heart. He suggested spiritual ecstasy or contentment can be found in most faiths. But maybe that similarity in worship arises from a deeper, innate need for transcendence: for connecting with someone beyond ourselves. The central question is, will all faiths, or goals, deliver that?
Earlier, I sought transcendence in the arms of beautiful women, thinking they would bring a transformative satisfaction. Or job success. I explored a variety of belief systems. Frankly, none worked. Success in achieving them brought no transcendence.
“Early Morning Dawn”
Slipping away from a beauty
in the early morning dawn
Before she looks out her window
Lord knows I’ll be gone
Moving down the sidewalk
cracks caress bare toes
The reason I am leaving
I wonder if she knows
Scared of where we’re going
know I’m not ready yet
But what can you do with a woman
when on love her mind is set
Words fall on empty ears
she reaches with her arms
Can’t she know, won’t she know
that it’s not her charms
That hold me here
or move me on
But a promise that I’d once seen
in the early morning dawn
Don’t know what it is
maybe never will
It’s of smiles and trees and God above
and I’m reaching for it still
I couldn’t settle into life with a woman unless I first settled the deeper issue of transcendence: does God exist? Is he good? Is he knowable? Is he active in human life? This poem helped me to realize what I had to resolve. Something within me caused me to search, because, I realized, in a paraphrase of an old country song, “I was looking for transcendence in all the wrong places.”
Our times have the prime directive “whatever works for you.” And I believe those who practice any faith tend to want transcendence, a deeper meaning to life, that can benefit them, and that’s what Ken saw. But according to the apostle Paul, zeal for any belief system, while laudable, is not enough on its own.
Or, our hunger for transcendence needs to flow from a close connection with Jesus Christ. Paul said about the Jews of his age who had not accepted Jesus, “I can testify …they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge” (Romans 10:1-3). Only Jesus can fully satisfy that hunger, only he is the Son of God and the Way the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).
Kick Starting the Application
Where do you find significance other than your walk with Jesus? Jobs? Family? Wealth? Leisure? Romance? Winning? To paraphrase Dr. Phil, how’s that working for you? I’m convinced one problem in forming a solid spiritual link with God is allowing other issues to become more prominent in our lives. We need to regularly, and brutally, assess ourselves to ensure that only in God do we seek significance.
Have you addressed these key issues Is God real? Is he good? Is he involved? If you want a spiritual meaning for life that transcends yourself, these questions need to be answered, without short circuiting the process by jumping into something that seems to satisfy. Is there anything that keeps you from that search?