This past week I took a trip (a fantastic trip) to the beautiful city of San Diego. My experience
there was different than what I expected, yet it was even better than what I
wanted. I learned a lot while I was there- a lot about myself, about
history, about my life, and about God.
I learned that San Diego is amazing. I learned that Juan Cabrillo, the first Spanish settler to
land in San Diego, set sail on the day of my birthday, 1542. I learned how to
disc golf, and that the California sun is much harsher than what shines in
Michigan (I may or may not have looked similar to a lobster at one point).
I learned
that as I travel, it’s not so much the places, but the God who created them
that I fall more in love with.
I could
actually dedicate an entire blog post to what I learned and experienced during
my time in California (and perhaps I will). However, there was something else
that specifically caught my eye; the reason for this writing.
One morning
I went to Cabrillo, beautiful cliffs on which the Spanish settler first landed,
to soak up some sights, history, and beauty. On these cliffs, there was a small
section in which a specific type of cacti grew. It was
explained to me that these cacti followed a specific cycle of life in always
the same time period. This cactus would grow tall for one whole year. Once it
reached its peak, the cactus would bloom a beautiful flower. Days later, though
not many, the flower would quickly die, the seeds would fall to the ground, and
the new cactus would begin again.
Fascinating,
right? What’s even more is that as I admired these plants in front of me, I was
able to see how fast this process was, as there was a mix of growing, budding,
planting, and dying cacti in the same bunch. I could physically see how short
of a life span this cactus had, and I could see it in its various forms.
It amazed me
how this plant continually went through the same, seemingly pointless cycle,
though the uniqueness of it exposed to me once again the creativity of my God.
But could
you imagine?! To expound all of your energy for an entire year to bloom for
such a short period of time and then die shortly after?
As I
pondered the life of the cactus, I wondered, “Maybe this is my life, too.”
Certainly
not what it’s supposed to be, but instead what I've made it to be. I expound
all of my energy to achieve certain goals- to reach success, to be skinny, to
gain wealth- yet will I not quickly pass as well?
“What is your life? You are a mist that
appears for a little while and then vanishes.” James 4:14
I spend all
of my energy on these “goals” I want to reach, but for what purpose? To what
end? Because depending on what I am striving for, I could not even bloom! Yet
this cycle just goes on and on: expounding, short reward, death, expounding,
short reward, death. What a terribly miserable cycle.
“There was a man all alone … there was no
end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. “For whom am I
toiling,” he asked, “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?” This too is
meaningless- a miserable business.” Ecclesiastes 4:8
It was so sad
to me, this cactus. I felt a pang of sorrow for this plant that spent the
majority of its existence either striving or dying. It seemed so purposeless to
me to spend all that time growing for such a short period of bloom, though
somehow I found it easier to see this in the cactus than in myself.
That’s what
nature does to me, I guess. It puts crazy ideas in my head and makes me reflect
on life. You put me
in a desert and I start comparing myself to plants.
That day, I
learned I was living like this cactus- wasting my life working toward a short
moment of potential reward. Now don’t get me wrong, for the cactus that’s
perfectly fine! I don’t exactly know why
God would create such a plant, though it fascinates me that he did.
Here’s what
I am saying: I wasn't made to live like a cactus.
I was not
made to spend my life striving for a moment of fleeting beauty, and yet so much
like the cactus, I do. Oh, but what a waste! There is so much life to live and
I miss it because I’m too focused on using my time, energy, and thoughts in
this manner.
We all have
our “moments of bloom” that we strive for, though they can vary in appearance
and form. But let me tell you, this is not the purpose God had in mind for us! No, we were
created for so much more- for life.
In Isaiah
43:7, we see that God created us for his glory, and again in Colossians 1:16
that we were made through him and for him. Ephesians 2:10 says that we were
created in Christ to do good works, and Matthew 5:16 tells us to let our light
shine so others may see these good works and give glory to God.
While it can
appear that we were made solely to be “used” by God, Jonathan Edwards, a
Christian preacher and theologian from the 18th century, said it
this way:
“God’s
purpose for my life is that I have a passion for God’s glory and that I have a
passion for my joy in that glory, and that these two are one passion.”
Further
explaining this point, John Piper (a preacher and famous author) wrote, “It has
become clearer to me that God being glorified and God being enjoyed are not
separate categories … enjoying God supremely is one way to glorify him. Enjoying
God makes him look supremely valuable. We were made to see and savor God- and
savoring him, to be supremely satisfied, and thus spread in all the world the
worth of his presence.”
So as you
can see, we were made for a much greater and more significant purpose than to
use all of our energy and time striving for the single “moment of bloom” we desire. Instead, our lives find deeper
meaning when we use them as they were meant to be- glorifying, enjoying, and
sharing the greatness of our God.
