Transient Beings

28.5.11

10.55pm

I love this word! I read a thought-provoking book titled Simply Christian and this word popped up. I thought it was such a good word that I should make it a title of a blog post. And so there you go! I now will attempt to write something out of the initial one-word idea. Haha.

We are transient beings. All we are, and all we have accumulated over the years are temporary. Our outer, physical “shell” is merely an avatar, so to speak. If we were to view life as simply birth, life and death, the ultimate closure, then living would become quite pointless. Especially for people who haven’t have much to look forward to in the present.

But we do not merely exist. We are living, transient beings. Transient meaning that death is not the end of the journey. The Latin origin, transiēns means going over, from transīre to pass over, and from trans- + īre  to go. Our moments in the present are merely a “passing through”, a dress rehearsal for what is to come. How we live now, determines how we live in eternity.

I admit, it all sounds a bit loony, illogical, unfathomable. I admit, I feel the same sometimes. But which is better, to deny the fact that my soul, the essence of my humanness, somehow knows, feels that there must be more to life than this, or to embrace the Hope, Truth and Grace that God has freely given through Jesus Christ? It’s all a bit loony, but like the Apostle Paul said, ‘We have this hope as an ANCHOR for our soul, firm and secure.’ (Hebrews 6:19)

The moments when I lose my anchor and turn my back on God, I lose all security and peace and hope. Life becomes quite miserable although I try to convince myself that I can survive alone. No, we were not made to live apart from people, and from our Creator!

Have you ever wondered why people so crave relationship and friendship? Family, friends, community, a sense of belonging, a desire to be wanted and loved and accepted, a desire to connect with others. It is in-built in us. If we were simply a work of chance chemicals floating in the universe and converging in a cataclysmic blow resulting in intelligent beings and beautiful, ordered creations with seasons and universal laws, do you think we would care, or desire love, desire friendship, crave acceptance, cry out for justice?

Have you ever wondered why we all appreciate and crave beauty and perfection? We weren’t meant to be full of flaws and blemishes, full of injustice and wickedness, full of imperfections and wrongs. We admire all things beautiful and wholesome. We can separate the sightly from the unsightly. We like to listen to a majestic and harmonious piece of music; we can admire a work of art. If humans did not have a Creator, if nature did not have a Designer, wouldn’t we be a sorry, unsightly, distasteful glob of mess? How did we come to seek social justice, to set up laws and systems to keep ourselves in tact? How did we learn to admire beauty and art and set aside time for rest and leisure?

If we were merely surviving and existing, and eliminating the “weaker” ones, we wouldn’t bother with all these things. Yet we all know that of all the creatures on earth, humans are more than just animals. We have an inkling in us the desire for fairness, justice, love and peace. As much as there has been the minority of tyrants, most people know that things on earth are not right as it should be.

We try to make right. We try to set up government and laws. We try to educate children and help people in poorer countries. But nothing has so far solved any of the world’s biggest problems. Nothing. No one. No religion has solved the world’s problems.

But what I know is that if we choose to ignore these desires in us, these ‘signposts’ that point to the meaning of our existence and the SOURCE of our life, then we are more doomed than ever! Then we are sinking even lower into the quicksand. But if we choose to pause and ponder why might we have these in-built desires for love, justice and mercy, then we will realize that yes, there must be something more to this seemingly petty existence.

We are transient beings. Today is fleeting. Tomorrow is non-existent. We live today. We are continually in transition. Remember, death is not the end. The challenges we face in life are not dead ends. The suffering and turmoil on earth is not another reason why “God cannot exist”. They are merely pointers, for those who are seeking, to the original plan. They merely slam it in our faces that yes, the world is not right at all. And yes, we cannot save ourselves. AND YES, MANKIND NEEDS RESCUING!

The good news is, there is and has been a rescue plan all along. Since the first sin committed. God gives us a choice. That is all we have, and that is the best thing to have. We can choose the rescue plan, or we can choose to sink deeper into the mire and be lost forever.

The rescue plan manifested in the life, death AND resurrection of Jesus Christ. No religion, no man, no good works, no education, no wit, no power, no name can save you and me but the name of Jesus! He alone is mighty to save.

As we go through this transitory journey, let us live every moment with our eyes fixed on Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our faith!

Carpe diem,

Janielle