Jesus, Spider-Man, Candles, And The Search for Purpose

A friend of mine was at his college reunion, and everyone was asking each other what they had been doing with their life. Most of the discussion was an exchange of resume bullets and travel highlights. But instead of playing that game, he told everyone he was working as a cashier at a convenience store. And, it was really meaningful because twenty years earlier he had gotten arrested robbing that same convenience store, so this was like coming full circle. What the story lacked in truthfulness (everything), it made up for in sheer stress-relieving power. 

When I was in high school and college, I spent a lot of time thinking about what I would do with my life. There were so many possibilities, real and imagined. So many things to accomplish, so many things to do, so many unanswered questions.  

Sixteen year-old me would be happy to know so many of the questions he wrestled with have been answered. Yes, it turns out I will find someone amazing to marry, she will be hot. I will have kids, they will be smart and kind. I will find a way to pay the rent, purchase a reasonable fleet of sneakers, buy a car with all its body panels and functioning air conditioning. 

But for every Big Life Question question answered over the past decades, more have sprung up. 

• Have I accomplished enough?

• Am I making the most of the opportunities I have?

• How will I be remembered?

• What experiences do I want to have?

• Who can I help?

• What will 80 year-old me regret having not done?

  
  

It turns out fifty-something questions might actually be more challenging than teenager questions (1). I’ve lived long enough to see choices turn into regrets. I enjoyed enough good fortune that I have much to lose. I’ve experienced almost as many lasts as I have firsts. And regardless of how well my knees are holding up, biology tells me there are almost certainly more sunsets behind than ahead. 

There is a powerful command, expressed first by Jesus then paraphrased by Spider Man’s uncle, that with great blessing comes great responsibility (2). This command has haunted me because I know I have been greatly blessed. Of course I have worked hard, but if I had been born in Burundi (3) I would not have the luxury of worrying about what to do with my life.

So what did Jesus say about purpose?

Jesus told his followers,  “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your Heavenly Father (4).” Wow. That seems like even more pressure. Light in the darkness? City on a hill? Are you kidding me? 

But a closer read shows a healthy serving of grace layered into the challenge. 

We see grace in the way Jesus communicated the concept of ‘good deeds.” The original Greek word (‘ergon’) translated as ‘deeds’ in the text has an incredibly broad definition. It refers to ‘employment, that which one undertakes to do, anything accomplished by hand or mind’ (5). He did not rattle off a list of things we must do to earn the favor of God. In a letter to the Colossian church, Paul of Tarsus said, “Whatever you do, do it from the heart for the Lord (6)..."  God makes no distinction between a well-dug ditch and an expertly-crafted cathedral, if both are done with the right attitude of the heart. Jesus dismissed the idea of a hierarchy of achievement by saying, “But many who are first will be last. And many who are last will be first (7)."

The metaphor Jesus used perhaps provides even more insight into how God views our deeds. A lamp, which in those days was a flame, cannot spontaneously generate fire on its own. A candle is lit with fire by another hand. Humans are blessed with a level of consciousness unrivaled in creation (8). We have the ability to love and to give and to impact creation in powerful ways. We all bear a unique version of the fiery image of God. And Jesus instructed his followers to honor that divine spark by not hiding it. 

Perhaps my search for purpose should be focused not on ‘doing’, but on ‘being’.

I have had a lot of jobs, a lot of experiences, and achieved a lot of things. But, when I think about a particular season of my life, the first thing that comes to mind is not necessarily a list of achievements. The first thing that comes to mind is how that time impacted me, how it shaped me. That education connected me to other people, that job built my confidence, that experience taught me humility, that season taught me how to love. What I do always seems less important than who I am. 

Jesus’ teaching about about being a city on a hill came right after the ‘beatitudes’, perhaps his most famous sermon and a tour de force on how humans should be. He said God blesses, or favors, people who: 

• Are aware of their need for God, that they are connected to the divine

• Mourn the brokenness of themselves and the world

• Have strength constrained by gentleness

• Long for justice 

• Are merciful and compassionate

• Are honest in thoughts and deeds

• Actively bring peace

• Are willing to suffer for doing what is right (9)

This is not a list that fits on a resume, but it looks great on a tombstone. If these things describe who I am, then what I do will take care of itself.  It may have taken me fifty something years, but I’m starting to realize doing is great, but being matters even more. 

(1) I recognize that the ability to make this statement is a great blessing. My early life was far from easy, my future was far from secure, and many paths were blocked, but I still had options. For so many young people, the focus is just on survival.

(2) “…When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.” Luke 12:48 NLT

(3) According to the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI), which evaluates life expectancy, education, and per capita income, the ten countries with the lowest chances for health and economic well-being are: Somalia, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Chad, Niger, Burundi, Mali, Burkina Faso, Yemen, Guinea

(4) Matthew 5:14-16 NLT.

(5) https://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/ergon.html

(6) Colossians 3:23 CEB

(7) Matthew 19:30 CEB

(8) Genesis 1:26–27 (Hebrew b’tzelem Elohim) “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…’ So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

(9) Matthew 5:3-11 CEB