It's the question we all start with as kids. Even at a tender age we don't simply accept the world around us,
but we test, enquire and explore. Why is grass green and sky blue? Why should I clean my plate at meal times? Why does [insert elderly relative] smell the
way they do?
But we grow up. We "mature"
beyond that first question. We stop
asking why. We stop questioning the
world around us. We lose that sense of
adventure in the midst of the unknown, and that urge to discover the new, the
bright, the beautiful things in every moment.
I think this is one of the many aspects of childlikeness that
Jesus implores us to keep nurturing. A
sense of wonder. Because without keeping
that sense of wonder and adventure well watered, it completely dries up under
the relentless heat of the grown up world.
Without a sense of wonder we can get caught up in the daily grind
– well named, I think, because it grinds you down, little by little, wearing
away the wonder that gives life its colour.
The daily grind that means that from 9am you're waiting for
5pm. From Monday morning you're waiting
for Friday night. From the first day
back, you're waiting for your next holiday.
What have we done to life to make it so... well, dull?
What if we asked "why" again? Why do I do this job? Why do I watch this show? Why do I lead this ministry? Why do I do what I do?
Without reminding ourselves of the purpose lying behind the
things that we do, they stagnate into habits, rituals, routines that – if we aren’t
careful – can become replacements for the purposes they were supposed to fulfill.
"Date night" becomes a movie and a drink, instead of
precious time to appreciate and develop deeper intimacy with your spouse.
"Money" becomes something to manage, measure and fret
about instead of being a gift to use wisely and bless others with.
"Church" becomes a weekly tradition or a weekend
inconvenience, instead of a wellspring of life and nourishment where we support
and encourage each other in our pursuit of Christ.
"Work" becomes a drag that we put up with to fund the
life we want to live in our down time, instead of a gift, a blessing, where
every day is an opportunity to serve God, to serve our colleagues, customers
and clients, to do our little bit every day to make our little corner of the
world better for us having been there.
I wonder what it would look like if we paused to ask "why"
and remind ourselves of the purpose of all that we do. If we can't answer the question
"why?" about some activity or other, then there are some very important
follow up questions. Those questions are important because everything we do takes time. And time is the most precious commodity we have. Psalm 90:12 says "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom". Why does a recognition of the finitude of time make us wise? Because it focusses the mind on how best to use that time. And for that assessment we need to know our purpose.For some people, there is no purpose – it is a philosophical necessity that there mustn't be. I believe that each beat of our hearts and each breath we breathe is a gift from God, and that he has instilled in us a purpose. To love Him, to know his love for us, and to share that love with those around us. In the words of Augustine "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you". It is in connecting with this central purpose - knowing God - that our hearts find their rest. But this "rest" is not the rest of one who has reached their destination. Rather, it is the rest of one who knows their purpose, and sets about pursuing that purpose from a place of being at peace with God, assured of his love, and with hope cemented in eternity.
There is no day or time in life that deserves to be "wished
away" by meandering, waiting for the moment to pass, or mindlessly following the patterns and routines of the world around us. There is purpose and
opportunity and wonder to be had in every single day, because as that old kids song
from Psalm 118 says: this is the day
the Lord has made, so I will rejoice and be glad in it.
Neither this day, not the total number of all my days, will last
for ever. I don't want to count any as wasted.
