In advance of Easter and Christmas I reflect on my own faith with pen in hand.
We all know what a mystery is and we are certainly drawn to a good one. The characters draw us in and the circumstances puzzle us. And a talented writer often surprises us at the end. Life is like that; there is often some distance between our plans and realities.
If we are at all reflective, we find ourselves from-time-to-time thinking about an unsolvable mystery — one that confounds and frustrates the scientists and philosophers who choose to take on the deepest mystery — how did life begin.
At the risk of brevity, let me begin with Ecclesiastes 3:11, it frames the inquiry:
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart. Yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”
It’s that “eternity in the human heart” phrase that pulls me in. What does it mean? What does the heart have to do with it? Can we put the eternity thing aside? I can’t get the questions out of my mind. They are the most important part of the mystery in my view.
I say the most important part because it is pivotal as our life unfolds. It is something we are said to carry around. Of course if we dismiss any relationship to eternity then we do not start with Ecclesiastes. If we start there what kind of claim does eternity have on us? Conversely, if eternity is “set” in our heart, shouldn’t we try to pay attention to its voice.
Eternity’s voice is more easily comprehended as family history. We all know at least something about our family tree and we speculate on where we got our blue eyes or height or even temperament or whatever.
It is hard to think about what is in our heart without going back to the beginning and not just the beginning of my family.
I was raised in the church. Or maybe more accurately, by parents who went to the church service after they dropped me off at Sunday School. And at some point along the way I began to connect “eternity” with the here and now – today, this minute. We were urged to and I tried. Or, drawing on Ecclesiastes, “eternity in the human heart” — my heart.
In this construct, eternity had to be transcendent. No eternity, no God. And, of course, no God no transcendent benchmarks. No God; we are in charge and where do we get our inspiration? What is the source of our “soul food” if we dismiss soul?
But before going further, I want to go back to Sunday School, at least as I recall it. Decades after the fact, I wonder: was this just an indoctrination exercise drawing on the works of ancient “A” type personalities who were good at insistences? Or was I being taught lessons from God, entwined in Biblical narratives?
Now, let me fast-forward from biblical times to present time and the song “Looking For Love In All the Wrong Places,” which is a song about our time.
It begins:
Well, I spent a lifetime lookin’ for you
Single bars and good time lovers were never true
Playing a fools game, hoping’ to win
And tellin’ those sweet lies and losing’ again
I was lookin’ for love in all the wrong places
Lookin’ for love in too many faces
Searching’ their eyes
Lookin’ for traces of what I’m dreaming of
Hoping to find a friend and a lover
I’ll bless the day I discover another heart
Lookin’ for love
“I’d bless the day I discover another heart looking for love”! An abiding question is whether there is any of the eternal in our earthly adventures? Is love, for example, all passion or should we be looking for qualities that foster a deeper, lasting relationship? And I am talking about all love not just the romantic version.
Mark Twain observed that “No man or woman really knows what perfect love is until they have been married a quarter of a century.” Is perfect love possible? Love in its several relationships is a puzzle. As is our comprehension of the eternal.
But, one thing seems clear to me. The eternal dimension— “eternity on our heart”—will not be a serious exploration if God is left out of the equation. To me, that is the reason I believe God exists.
Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al writes on themes from his book, Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books.
Charles E Valier says
A very touching and introspective discussion. An adventure that must be made alone. Perfect love is lying at my feet. Her needs are simple. Her love boundless and enduring. She is unable to work out Al’s complexities. Nevertheless she is loyal, trusting and stays by me come hell or high water. Her name is Taffy. She is a three year old golden retriever. For her it is quite simple. I adopted her as a baby, fed her, gave her mannersy. For a man late in life she is the obligation I cherish.
Paul Rybon says
Thanks, Al Sikes for attempting to figure it all out. Either we believe that humanity is nothing but a wind up you or we believe that that
There is a higher power
Mark Fowler says
This is a beautifully written tribute to both God and Love. Al has always been a kind, strong, and loving man. I ought to know. For over 30 years he never — not once — strayed from these special qualities of what it means to love in all ways.