I thought things would be different.

         When I was a kid I imagined I was born to greatness. I would raise my hands in the air and imagine that if I believed hard enough I would be the boy that could fly. I had vivid daydreams of finding out that I was actually adopted and my parents were royalty in some far off land, or that my dad was really a secret agent and we were somehow living undercover until his mission was finished.

        Later, as I realized that my parents were pretty much like everyone else’s parents, I decided that I must be the only human left alive. Anyone else was actually a very lifelike robot and I was the subject of a massive experiment in human behaviour. Not only was I the center of the world’s focus, I was unique, individual and gifted.

         Unfortunately, I have discovered that none of this seems to be the case. Well, that’s not to say I don’t have talents or giftings, but there is nothing about me that demands a scientific study or an entry in Wikipedia. I’m still waiting for the President to call me about a vital decision affecting national security, and I’m pretty sure I’m not on anybody’s short list for future NBA draft picks.

      Ecclsiastes 3:11 says ” . . .  He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.” There seems to be a sense in all  cultures that our lives are somehow incomplete, that something is missing, we need the spiritual to complete that which is unfinished in the natural.

         I believe that my childhood fantasies were a reflection of that sentiment, the need to go beyond what I could see to something more powerful, heroic and good.

          As I get older and life seems to become less focused on possibilities and more on realities, I am encouraged to know  this isn’t all there is, that as Paul said “For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face.” Life doesn’t usually play out like a blockbuster movie, but underneath the hum-drum and everdayness there is an undercurrent of reality that most of us never get in touch with.

          While I’m not in a hurry to leave this world, I find myself longing to have the veil lifted and to see the real living and breathing creation instead of the shadows. I want to break out of this shell that has been created for my spirit and come face to face with my creator.

Advertisement