Something only Christians can say: Donald Trump is not our highest political leader.

We’re not capable of beholding — all at once — all the things worth grieving over, being outraged at, or even being delighted over.

The goodness and badness of the world are a firehose.

We weren’t built to drink from a firehouse.

Only God can take it all in. We’re not God. So maybe we should cut down our Facebook and Twitter feeds to a slow, limited trickle.

1. Those who wrestle with the despair of meaninglessness.
2. Those who wrestle with the weight of life’s meaning.
3. Those who are in denial that it’s ultimately one of the two.

Expressive individualism says in a person, “No one is allowed to tell me I am an objectively beautiful human, not even God. I choose, I own, I decide whether I am beautiful, and in what respect. Everything else is a social construct.”

Christianity says to a person, “You are an objectively beautiful human, made in the image of God, royalty in the highest regard, made for a purpose greater than yourself, cherished by a Creator who gave your life meaning, even if your self-image says otherwise, even if the whole world says otherwise.”

Writing assignments in school: inflate and expand.

Real life: compact and condense.

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Benefits of condensing:

– Our notes/essays are more useful. We will be more likely to revisit them.
– Writing concise summaries forces us to truly understand material.
– Easier to teach to others, and thus more memorable.

We need meaning outside ourselves, other than ourselves, more than ourselves. We aren’t stable, sufficient, or satisfying sources or manufacturers of meaning.

We need our own stories to belong to a meta Story. We need our art to be a part of a larger Mosaic. We need our music to be a note in a Song bigger than us. Only a relationship with God finally satisfies.

Contrast with the atheist existentialist who says, “We can just create our own meaning and that will be enough.”

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“Every prayer is a rebuttal to the ‘look within’ logic of our age. To pray is to acknowledge that we don’t have all the answers in ourselves. We don’t have sufficient wisdom to make complex decisions.” (Brett McCracken)

Proof that pleasure and suffering are inadequate for determining the value of life: Pleasure is worthy of despair if experienced alone and without meaning. Suffering with those who love you, with meaning, is worth enduring. It even brings its own kind of joy.

Staying upstairs in the SLC Main Street Coffee House (pastored by Clint Roberts), shoving pigeon droppings on the roof, leaving in the morning with my tracts for downtown evangelism, and then on Sunday: singing the sweetest Waterdeep songs with the beauty of a guitar and a small group of singers.

1. It’s OK that we live in an ultimately meaningless, purposeless, impersonal, amoral (or unjust), unaesthetic (or ugly), futile universe, not being fully known and fully loved, suffering pointlessly, working fruitlessly, dying permanently. It makes what little we have worth enjoying.

2. Whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want, our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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Addendum.

Cognitive dissonance among atheists:

“The pointlessness of life is not a thing to be overcome. It’s something to be celebrated now, because that’s all there is.”

“We invent comforting lies to distract us from one simple truth: Oblivion looms… The clock is ticking. We create our own meaning, and there’s more than enough to be had. Seize it where you can.”

“I do feel that life is ultimately pointless, but I honestly don’t care.”

(BuzzFeed)

See also: Optimistic Nihilism

The strange logic of “If it is meaningless and valueless and pointless… but scarce and temporary, we should enjoy it and pretend it has meaning while we can.”

The cynicism of atheism: The universe is ultimately a lonely place; I am not truly known and loved by anyone.

Contrast:

“To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us.” (Timothy Keller)