the Essence of Existence...
Existential philosophy would have us convinced that our essence - or our “indispensable qualities that serve to characterize or identify something” is found over the course of our lives, or to put it another way “is proceeded by our existence”.
But our essence - what we might also call our; meaning, purpose or significance is fundamentally found in the fact that we are foreknown by God. He defines our essence, our meaning, our purpose and significance.
The Bible clearly affirms that we are known, called, searched, created and chosen by God. (see Psalm 139:1-5; 13 & Colossians 1:16).
But in a world so dominated with a culture of “finding yourself”, we seldom reflect on the fact that we are already found in Jesus Christ. There is no need for searching barring the search for more of God himself.
Paul wrote to the Ephesians “He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight."
We regularly forget this truth, which is a sad reality.
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The modern poet wrote:
“The secret committees, commence with their meetings to make red tape in response to simple questions. Questions threaten the perception of the beneficial system, a pyramid scheme with it's cogs and its pistons. Mechanization of men, making more and more live in a miserable existence. How can so few, claim so many victims? And this begs the question. My rest is a weapon against the oppression of mans obsession to control things. Look at the long line of make believe kings and the lord of the flies wants you to kiss his ring. Follow new rules with invisible strings and become a puppet in a diabolical scheme. How do good men become a part of the regime? They don’t believe in resistance."
My implication is that in order to avoid “a miserable existence” we must be in active resistance to that which is causing such stagnation.
Søren Kierkegaard, the 19th century Danish Philosopher and Theologian wrote in The Present Age - On The Death Of Rebellion about a “passionless age” that is fueled by “envy” in which nothing is accomplished. I cannot think of a better way to describe our current times. He writes...
“In the end the whole age becomes a committee… for it is in the process of ceasing to exist.” (16).
We verge closer and closer to oblivion the more we rely on outside forces to accomplish the important work for us. Relying on meetings and our work to define who we are - all at the sake of our Essence and Vocational Call as the people of God.
In our modern times, AI makes us feel accomplished in our work by “making our lives more simple”, while we are trading off our own ability to think deeply and reason.
The internet provides us with all the answers we might ever need, yet we retain and memorize little to nothing.
The movies and television shows we are submerged in, replace a deep, human desire for story and adventure - the stories and plots of the shows we consume have become our “entertainment”, but even more so, said “entertainment" has replaced our ability to be entertained by actually living and enjoying life in the beautiful and creative world that God has designed for us to be stewards of.
Stars on the screen have replaced our wonder of the stars in the skies. Stars that “declare the glory of God and proclaim the work of his hands.” (see Psalm 19:1)
The same hands that placed each of those stars, formed us into being - our essence.
And that same God, breathed life into our lungs and thus, we became a living being - our existence.
And the truth of the matter is that our existence on this side of heaven is short.
Will we choose to live it miserably?
Or, might we, in defiance and resistance to the world, step into our God ordained Essence (what we will here call our Vocational Call) to “go and make disciples of all nations” to live as “a chosen people, a holy nation, God’s special possession” and be guided and comforted by the Spirit of God in our attempts to do so? (see Matthew 28 & 1 Peter 2)
"And the world looks just the same, history ain't changed, so i'll get on my knees and pray; we don't get fooled again."
- The Who
The world has fooled us long enough into believing that our essence and identity can be found elsewhere or over the course of time. Not in possessions, money, power, or personal ability are we defined, but only in the loving call of Christ to be His bride - His Church - His people.
This is the essence of our existence, and we can find much peace in knowing the voice of the good Shepherd who calls us into the light burden, lack of anxiety and worry found in His call and will for our lives - the simplicity of living in Christ. (referencing John 10:1-18 & Psalm 23:1-3 & Philippians 4:6 & Matthew 6:25-34 & Matthew 11:28-30).
In him alone do we find purpose (essence) and better understand the reason why we exist.
See our Essence precedes our Existence, because the purpose for which we are made defines the reality of our brief life here on earth. It has been my recent attempt to live that life under the simple yoke of Christ. Trusting in His plan and His good and gracious will. Remembering that this life is but a vapor.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
- Jesus the Christ of Nazareth as recorded in Matthew 11:28-30
Context
The idea of essence of existence has been floating around my head for a number of years. Kierkegaard’s writing, which I read just before the death of Charlie Kirk, inspired me, along with other recent cultural events to act in defiance to this age. I view this as a “work in progress” and something I hope to return to regularly as I learn and grow more. But it is also something I believe is fundamental to helping me understand the reason why I am here, my role and vocation as a member of the Christ community and helping me outline what I will here call a “theology of life” - where I aim to explore what it means to live in Christ, for Christ and through Christ in every aspect of my life. I am far from perfect, but I pray that with intention to glorify God, I can affirm that “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me”.
My Own Pen
In light of my reference to Artificial Intelligence, I wish to make clear that these words and ideas are strictly my own and no form of Artificial Generation was used in the outlining, conception or writing of this work.
With that said, I am heavily indebted to many writers and thinkers who are much wiser and deliberate than I am. It can be assumed that many of my ideas, phrases and use of words is influenced by such great mentors. I do, however, wish to emphasize - based on the model of the Apostle Paul that these words were indeed written with “my own pen”. I hope my words might mean something to you and would thoroughly enjoy any feedback and further thoughts on this matter.
