Personal Reflections on Value, Worth and Discipleship

Why do we ask these nagging questions that seem to echo in our bones and divide our minds?

Questions like, where did I come from? Why am I here? What is my purpose? Where are we going (ultimately)? What happens when we die?

Not that I am going to give you the answer that will stop all of that bone echoing or bring peace and unity to our minds, but I am going to venture down a path that is worth pondering (at least I think so).

Ontologically, we hold value and worth in our existence, at least as an existing essence or being. I am, therefore, I have worth in the value of the present. If I did not exist, there would be no observer or observation from this person/perspective. That being (me) holds intrinsic value and worth, but we cannot measure it without knowing it regarding the reason for its existence (my existence). We cannot measure it without knowing why there is an observation of me, by me, and by all the existing observations around me.

These questions are philosophically unparalleled, until or unless something is observed as having greater value. Oftentimes, idealized personas, grandiose objects, romanticized stories, well-articulated pathways, or more complex systems are attractive because they seem to give greater value to something or someone than you were giving to yourself. However, it seems that an ultimate being, creator, source of everything is already answering the questions in a greater story that we have found ourselves in. And the more we seek it, the more we see that this is true.

And then there are the deceptions and worthless pathways, that seem so beautiful, phantasmic, terrific, and over time they pull the person into greater darkness, chaos, despair, anxiety, depression, and desolation. These are the stories of fame, fortune, pleasure, and self-worship, that seem to lead each person that follows these paths to an early grave or at least isolation, depravity, and/or the zombie-like addiction to drugs, sex, and greed.

If a story is true, in that it helps align the most robust and real version of you with all it is that you have observed and beyond, without losing the true bearing that its origin began with, do you cast your entirety into it? Is that worth submitting to, or should we hold out for something better? Should we look for another story? It seems the most authentic and resonating story is the one that affects us most effectively. One can plunge the depth, breadth, length, and height of it, only to find that it cannot be measured, and yet must be adhered to.

This is the story of the canonical scriptures, and the Triune author behind the passages. This is the good news and truth in love that the Lord in His grace has blessed me with, as I ventured into many worldviews, belief systems, and caught in the deceptive stories of fame, fortune, pleasure, and self-worship--desiring to know what is the way, the truth, and the life.  It seems appropriate that I was searching for whats and hows and whys, when it was a who the entire time. May the Lord Jesus Christ save you from death and deliver you into eternal life in Him through the hearing of His Word.