Rebuilding the Puzzle

Pursuing God's wonder or recapturing a sense of wonder is much like building a jigsaw puzzle. The only thing is that some of the pieces have gone missing and you need to find the pieces before you can put the 'big picture' back together. Well, tonight I found another piece of that puzzle.

A couple friends and I just started a Bible study, in which we're studying 1st Samuel. Tonight we dove head-first into chapter 1, which tells of Samuel's birth. This story has reminded me of my own story... which I'll get to in a second.

Time after time we see stories of women in the Bible who are barren, but desperately desire to have a child. In Hannah's case she promises God that, if He gives her a child she'll dedicate this child to God (to serve in the priesthood). God gives her a son, and she names him Samuel. When he's 3 years old he is sent off to live with Eli (a priest), and begins his service to God. We see this story of a 'miracle baby' repeated over and over in scripture (ie. Sarai, Rebekah, Rachel, Elizabeth,...), but why?

This is where my story comes in... There are events surrounding my birth that make me believe that my life is somewhat of a miracle or gift from God. I've been told, from a young age, that God has a purpose for me and that I'm here for a reason. In light of my birth story, I often have the feeling I'm living on borrowed time. In the past, this idea has kept me motivated and fervently seeking God. However, the problem is that when I start to lose sight of my target, or my dreams start to seem out of reach, I slowly begin to forget I've been created for a purpose.

Well, Samuel's birth story has reminded me of my story and given me something to think about. I'm not saying that my story is comparable to Samuel's or that my responsibility in this world is any greater than those around me, but I must keep in mind that my life is not just a random mishap. God had me in mind long before I was brought into this world and I should be extremely excited about that!

Sometimes I get so caught up in myself that I forget about the 'bigger picture'. Every once in awhile I need something to adjust my perspective. I need to constantly remember that my life has a purpose, and what I do with my time and energy matters to God...

"My Life is a work of art inspired by a sense of wonder, created with the purpose of displaying the wonder of God."
~Lee Johnson

Batman and Aristotle's "Golden Mean"

One thing I constantly think about is what my part is in the bigger scheme of things. Am I to live out a humble existence as a school teacher, or be some great leader or hero? Is it just me or do other men dream of being some sort of hero? (Relax, I'm not going to jump into the whole "Wild at Heart" thing). I guess my thoughts are more along the lines of... if I were presented with the opportunity to do something heroic would I stand-up or would I cower in fear?

The stories that have always fascinated me, are those about comicbook superheroes, in particular, the character of Batman. I was reminded of this when The movie, "Batman Begins" came out in theatres. This character of Batman isn't like most other superheroes, he has no super powers, and yet he feels burdened with the responsibility of seeing justice carried out.

When I saw the Batman movie, I thought, "why is this Batman character so popular, or why does he resonate with such a wide audience?" Well, the reason I think he's so popular is because of his vulnerability. We love a hero who will sacrifice himself for the well-being of others.

I remember learning about Aristotle's "golden mean" when I was in an Introductory Philosophy course in college. I'm sorry if I don't get this right because it's late and it's been awhile since I've read Aristotle, but basically the golden mean is the idea that virtue is found as a mean between two extremes. An example is the virtue of courage... At one extreme there is cowardice and at the other extreme is fearlessness. Somewhere in the middle between cowardice and fearlessness falls courage. One end of the scale is deficiency and the other end is excess. It is only courage if the person undertsands his mortality, yet overcomes his fears in an act of bravery.

This is why Batman is such a compelling character. He is vulnerable and he knows it (hence the secret identity), yet he risks his life in the pursuit of justice. He is very much human, but there is a determination in him that sets him apart from others. In juxtaposition to Batman, Superman is a character who has incredible power which makes him more of a guardian to humankind (rather than a human seeking justice among humans). This made me think that maybe Batman is more virtuous and easier to identify with, but I changed my mind after seeing the new Superman movie... however, I will save this for another blog entry.

I leave you with a quote from "Batman Begins"...

"A vigilante is just a man lost in the scramble for his own gratification. He can be destroyed, or locked up; but if you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, and if they can't stop you, you become something else entirely." ~Henri Ducard

and Aristotle...

"Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."