It Matters because it Matters
Nothing gets people in their feels like having to confront different beliefs surrounding how this world was created or how God does or does not work. As someone who holds enough ‘beliefs’ or ‘positions’ to upset everyone, I will tell you firsthand that issues like abortion are comparably far more tenable.
It matters so much because it matters. There is no possible way for it to overflow people's emotions so consistently. Great mysteries and uncharted lands have always and will always come with a measure of hardship and volatility. This is the natural order of what is seen and unseen.
The first summit of K2, the first settlers in the New World, discovering fission & fusion; the adventures of these ‘first times’ and mysteries are analogous to what it is like breaching a new collective understanding into the unseen.
The bluff that stands in the way of us coming together to discuss and connect over these eternally deep topics is a battle that will unleash mental, emotional, and relational destruction on all who are ill-prepared for its furry.
You may be familiar with the movie Saving Private Ryan; the opening beach scene shockingly displays the horrors of A company’s first moments in France. They knew what they were up against; Germany's greatest general, and they were briefed that they might suffer 99% casualties. Within a single hour of landing, they had already taken 96% casualties. For good reason, we will forever look up to and honor men like these, who soberly knew their fate, yet faced it like lions.
The motors, machine guns, missiles, and mines waiting for us as we broach these foundational topics surrounding what is unseen play out in our mind, body, soul, and spirit in similar ways. Many brave enough to walk into the beachhead of discovery around these topics will suffer similar types of casualties emotionally and relationally. Topics like:
Where did we come from?
How was the Universe Created?
What happens when we die?
Who am I?
These questions hit us deeply because they matter. Some of you may laugh at them; that’s a defense mechanism; you are in your feels, and deep down, you know it. Your passion to scoff at these questions or the people that come to mind when you think of them, is because of how profoundly these questions matter to you. Both these questions and their answers have an undeniable weight to them.
More important than the answers to these questions is our authentic journey in pursuit of them.
Fools build a fort around perceived destinations where wisdom lingers in genuine journeys.
One day, in this life or the next, we will understand the nobility and bravery it took for those willing to elevate our collective understanding of the unseen.
