The Same Old Thing

Just the other day, I was asked how my day was going. "Oh, same stuff, different day." As soon as the words left my mouth, the Holy Spirit checked me. Where did that come from? Are those the real thoughts about my life? Have I come to a place where everyday is just the same old thing?

We've all been guilty of thinking like this. Life, at least for most of us, goes on with very little day to day change. My goodness, we're practically repeating the ramblings of that old Teacher from Ecclesiastes, "There is nothing new under the sun, ever."(1:9 NIV, italics mine)

According to Eldredge, losing paradise was not the worst thing to happen to this world. (Desire, p. 9) The fact that we're very much used to it is. We brush our teeth. We go to our jobs. We watch the news. We go to bed fully expecting to get up the next day only to do it all over again. Why? It's the way things are supposed to be, or at least, that is what we tell ourselves.

Just take your life the way it is right now. Someone has just given you the news that from here on out, your life will never change. Your health, your finances, your relationships, all of it will not get any worse, nor will it ever get any better than what it is right now. React to that with as much honesty as you can muster. What conclusions do you come to? My guess is the heart has little patience for "the same old thing".

Desire: Setting Forth

Before I get too far into this post, I must explain what is going on. I've been reading John Eldredge's book Desire. I've read it before, but this time I chose to utilize the study guide companion to the book, giving me a place to jot down thoughts from my reading. What you'll be reading over the next several weeks will be my personal journal through what is perhaps one of the most important topics we could ever address.

Mile 1, Segment 1: Setting Forth

The heart is truly an amazing thing. It is a mysterious thing, but it is nonetheless amazing. Now, I'm not talking about the involuntary muscles pumping inside our chests that we learned about in grammar school. The heart I'm referring to is the core of our being, the center and the secret to our existence. It's the heart we least like to talk about, yet it is the most significant thing about us. If we want to know the reason for our existence, this is where our journey must begin.

Within the heart, there is held a secret. Eldredge names that secret to be nothing other than desire. It is the drive to find life as it was meant to be. There are times we are keenly aware of desire; and other times, scarcely so. Yet, it is always there. We all want life, however, we are at a loss when it comes to finding it, or making it last. Life always seems to evade us, but it is desire that keeps up the hunt.

This may sound strange, but hang with me for a moment to demonstrate what we're talking about. A friend that I work with is your all around outdoors man. Some of his favorite activities include hunting, fishing, and camping. At a moment's notice, he's ready to go. That is the life I long for. Not his life but the life that is ready and able to abandon the shirt and tie and go enjoy an adventure. That looks really good to me now.

What about you? Is there something about someone else's life that looks good to you right now, you'd prefer it above your own?