What’s the Point?

Posted on by beautybeyondbones

Walking around New York, I often find myself just realizing that, if I didn’t believe, I wouldn’t be able to see God anywhere.

I mean, if I weren’t looking for Him, God seems nowhere.

Sure, I’ll walk past the occasional church that is empty, minus a few fanny-pack-wearing tourists snapping pictures on their iPads.

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But, real talk: there just isn’t a lot of God out there to be found in our culture.

There’s just a whole lot of other stuff to occupy our time and our minds: the Olympics, summer blockbusters, the NFL, the latest Kimye/Taylor drama, back to school shopping, the presidential election, you name it – our culture exists in a spiritual wasteland, if I’m being really honest.

And for as incredible as NYC is, truthfully, it exemplifies this hyper godless environment.

But sometimes, when I’m walking along, dodging Pokemon Go players and briefcase-touting-powerwalkers on the sidewalks…

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…I sometimes wonder, why do I need faith?

Pause.

I am not questioning my faith or the existence of God. But I wonder, if I weren’t a Jesus follower, why would I think faith mattered? 

What’s the argument for it? Why would I care? What is the case for faith?

Because I look at everything around me, and you know what, I wouldn’t think I was really missing anything if I didn’t believe.

Things are so instantaneous and so immediately gratifying, I would look at faith and think, How painfully archaic. Why not live for the now? I’m only young once, so why drag around the old “ball and chain?” Who wants to just feel guilty and constrained all the time anyway? It doesn’t matter…

So.

Does it?

Does faith matter?

And the answer to that can be summed up in three little words.

What’s. The. Point?

What’s the point? To life? To my friendships? To my career? To my body? To whatever…

What’s the point?

If you close your eyes and think about the life we’re bombarded with everyday, what do you see?

For me, I see this fast paced, movie-trailer-esk montage of images, narrated by none other than Morgan Freeman.

First there are the “high fashion” images of our society with Victoria’s Secret models and men with chiseled jawlines wearing suits that cost more than a downpayment on a car. Justin Bieber flashes by, peeing in a bucket and riding a segway, waving to his Canadian buddy, Drake.

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There’s partying, reality TV and all of its quality family values. Trump’s yelling, Hillary’s barking, and Blair Waldorf is leaning over to whisper the latest gossip to Serena. (#GossipGirl) 😉

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Then in my movie trailer depiction of life, there are shots of homeless people, starving children in third world countries, refugees in war torn nations. Images of kids being bullied at school or online. Of violence in our communities. Of maxed out prisons full of human beings with names and faces. Images that shatter your heart into a million tiny pieces.

Cut to my family. My friends. Teachers. The cashier at my grocery store. The kids I nanny for. The cross guard on 6th Avenue. All the people in my life that I come in contact with every day. People with stories and hurts and struggles.

Cut to me.

Open your eyes.

After watching that bombardment of all that life’s throwing at us, what’s the point?

Are we to think that this is it? 

Well, okay – thanks, Caralyn, for pointing out all the crap that’s out there. Sure there’s a lot of eFF-ed up stuff, but what does that have to do with faith?

And I think the answer is that, all of those things we’re bombarded with – all of those things in our movie trailer – without faith – without God – we would have to navigate all of that alone.

And I don’t know about you, but frankly, that scares the be-jezzes out of me.

We’re not in this alone. Everything that the world tries to throw at us, that makes us feel as though we don’t measure up — we don’t look a certain way, drive a certain car, own a certain brand, live a certain lifestyle — all those bullshit standards impressed upon us by our cultural movie trailer — there’s more to life than that.

There’s hope.

And that’s where faith comes in. That’s where God comes in.


Faith gives you hope, and hope gives you something bigger to live for.

I’m not just living for the here and now. I’m living with my eyes on eternity.

There’s more to life than making money, and getting more “stuff” or going on lavish vacations or having an enviable house or career. There’s something bigger than me that I’m living for.

I’m living for Him.


I’m trying to use my life to be His hands and feet for everyone I come in contact with.

Because the world can seem like a spiritual wasteland, void of goodness and gentleness and hope. So I want to use my life to be a teeny tiny glimmer of His love and His truth.

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Because the world is not godless. He is all around. But it is up to us to choose to look for Him. To choose to see God in the everyday– In the people around us. In the opportunities around us.

That‘s the hope. That’s why faith does matter. Otherwise, the weight of the world would be just too much to bear.

 

So what’s the point?

 

Hope.

Choose it. See it. Claim it. Live it.

 

“Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

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beautybeyondbones

BBB: Because we're all recovering from something. // For speaking/business inquiries: beautybeyondbones@yahoo.com

391 thoughts on “What’s the Point?”

  10. This was a beautiful and thoughtful post. And this in particular is especially true: “Because the world is not godless. He is all around. But it is up to us to choose to look for Him. To choose to see God in the everyday– In the people around us.”

    May God bless you with peace and happiness.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. So very inspirational and spot-on true! You are so very right in everything you’ve written… I can personally testify that were it not for the grace of God and his love, I would not even be in this world now. Really. So thank you very much for sharing this, and blessings to you!

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  17. Lovely post. It puts me in mind of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s words:

    Earth’s crammed with heaven,
    And every common bush afire with God;
    But only he who sees, takes off his shoes . . . .

    Liked by 1 person

  19. I love this post, Caralyn. You have a beautiful writing style that’s filled with so much truth. Thanks for sharing this today; It was a much-needed reminder:-)

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  20. Wow! Powerful! Beautiful! Uplifting! Inspirational! Sorry, I’m speechless. 🙂 Only powerful feelings flowing throughout me. Tears in my eyes half way through reading. A message that goes straight to my heart and embraces it with God’s Love.

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      1. Thank you, Caralyn! Still speechless, with a big smile on my face. 🙂 Hugs and love back to you.

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  21. Once again, you proceeded to blow my mind with this post. You are awesome! I cling to Hope and Him some days, because that’s all I have to get through whatever life is throwing at me. I pray a lot more now, more than I ever have. God is AWESOME!!

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  23. The distractions from the truth have been around since about 2 seconds after the truth. Thanks for this contemporary take on how to keep facing the truth in our everyday lives.

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  24. This was beautifully written, and you are just as beautiful for having written it. The last post I wrote contained some thoughts similar to yours— Maybe sometimes God has a certain idea that He wants to impress upon all of us in different ways, and at precisely the same time. It’s pretty amazing. I especially appreciated what you said in your opening sentence—that if you didn’t believe, you wouldn’t be able to see God anywhere. Even for those who do believe, it’s quite easy to lose sight of Him amid the constant influx of worldly distraction. I can’t imagine anymore what it must be like for someone who has never known of Him at all. Sometimes, I can barely stand to think about the world, the way it’s going—and it’s in those moments of despair when I realize most that He’s the only solace I have.

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    1. Aw thank you Angela. That is so sweet of you to say. Yes! Too funny-God definitely works in mysterious way! But you’re right-He’s the only solace. Thanks for stopping by! Hugs and love xox

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  25. Ah, so that’s how your name is spelled 🙂
    As usual, a really well done piece. I have learned to lean on the section from Hebrews, because while I don’t have certainty, while I keep questioning and seeking, I still believe that God is out there, and that I will find the peace I so desperately seek and the end to the questioning I seem to have. Nicely done my friend. 🙂
    And you might (maybe) find an evocative, or provocative, thought in my blog today. :/

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  26. Thank you, friend for this. I needed to hear this message today. Did I say the other day that the videos would preclude your writing over time? I’ll just tiptoe out of the BBB lounge quietly… because writing like this has to continue. Much love to you friend, and I hope you have a great weekend!

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  27. From A Course In Miracle, Lesson 12: What is meaningless is neither good nor bad. Why, then, should a meaningless world upset you? If you could accept the world as meaningless and let the truth be written upon it for you, it would make you indescribably happy. But because it is meaningless, you are impelled to write upon it what you would have it be. It is this you see in it. It is this that is meaningless in truth. Beneath your words is written the Word of God. The truth upsets you now, but when your words have been erased, you will see His.

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  30. it is my God connection that keeps me grounded so that all of those things you mentioned, don’t and can’t suck me into their crappy little vortex

    “Through lack of disciplined attention and sometimes through lack of the right kind of faith, many of us keep ourselves year after year in a rather easy spiritual kindergarten ”

    Bill Wilson ,co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous

    “

    Liked by 3 people

  31. In one of the Father Brown mystery stories, G. K. Chesterton wrote, “‘What we all dread most,’ said the priest in a low voice, ‘is a maze with no center. That is why atheism is only a nightmare.” And I feel that today — so grateful that even in the darkest valleys, we who are in Christ have hope, and so humbled to remember that there are so many who do not yet know hope.

    Liked by 1 person

  33. Wow, wonderful points and writing style! I myself have been just getting closer to Daddy God as my dog has passed away this past July. He is so beyond anything and all I could ever compose, but yet we write out of gratitude to Him because we love Him so. I’ve recently been thinking of just asking people I meet if they would like to be healed of xyz, or prayed for, we live in a free country with nothing hold us back save for ourselves. Lovely words doll. Keep lifting Him up as Lord, and glorifying Him

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  34. Faith is vital. Sometimes it’s the only thing that sustains us. Without the love of God, I’m not sure how I would have managed many of my challenges. I know wonderful people who live without it, but that would be a sad life for me. I admire the thoughfulness you bring to your life. Blog on Baby Doll!

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  35. Caralyn: having read this post, which, of course, was “spot on”, I would like to send you a copy of my newly printed booklet, “Basics of Life”. Mostly I would like your input on how I might improve the next printing. Basics is aimed at (in priority) seekers, baby Christians and chronological older Christians that can’t put on a single sheet of paper what they believe. In a 2014 poll George Barna, the Christian George Gallup, “The Christian body in America is immersed in a crisis of biblical illiteracy. When given 13 basic teachings from the Bible, only 1% of adult believers firmly embraced all 13 as being biblical perspectives.” So, if you could supply me with some address, I’d like to send you a copy. You can respond to my email address. Blessings!

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    1. Thank you so much Tom. Wow, I am so touched by your words. I would be honored to read it! I’m working on getting a PO box set up, so as soon as I do, I will pass it along! It sounds like an amazing and important topic! hugs xox

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  36. There are so many things all around to distract us. They aren’t necessarily bad but can keep us from connecting with God if we allow it. Sometimes it’s only when we lose what we thought was so important that we start seeking what is really important.
    Thank you for your your insight on having that relationship with God that can get you through the darkest times.

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    1. Thanks for this reflection. You’re so right – sometimes things have to be taken away in order for us to truly see and appreciate what we do have 🙂 Thanks for stopping by! hugs and love xox

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  37. If you Believe In GOD he’s always where you are. Don’t look for him. Just sense him. He will reveal himself to you when the time is right. Just know He Is God! Believe in YOU as well. You’ll get there. All things in time…”Hold’em Hook”!…..BG>

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  38. This is a great declaration and example , How we keep our faith in this century . Human being seems trying to eliminate the spiritual element , But they can not. the soul is longing for his creator. Who can ignore Him.
    Amen , you said well. Faith gives you hope. Hope that’s what we are living for , Honestly . without Him , how can it be ?
    Psalms 112 : 10
    The wicked man sees it and is angry;
        he gnashes his teeth and melts away;
        the desire of the wicked will perish!
    They will see our Faith and will say how it possible , we got everything we need here . they see and be angry , But our God is faithful and saves His children.

    Great word.

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  39. I love this post! It reflects a well thought out faith, not just one that has been handed down to you. Bravo for staking your faith claim in a largely materialistic and ungodly culture. I applaud both your courage and your articulate thoughts. We need more writers of your kind.

    Sent from my iPhone

    >

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  40. Without faith it impossible to please God, amen from Cambodia. When God becomes central, Love becomes central in our lives and that love (cliché as it may seem) is what the world needs. Here in South East Asia many of these languages do not have the word for forgiveness as this culture has been in many ways untouched by God’s love. To see the countenance of a man turn from darkness to light, solely from a message of faith and the love of God.Wow. love what was said, keep God center stage.

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  41. I was hoping I’d be the first one! Nevertheless, this was spiritually engaging yet thought provoking. I loved getting a glimpse of your personality through your writings. Awesome! This blessed me so much. God bless you! You inspire me through your writings and obedience.

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  42. This is my prayer Lord that I will be an extension of your love and kindness in the chaos of this end time. Thanks for sharing. Love the way you narrate your thoughts. Very inspiring

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  43. Wonderful! I’ve wanted to say this for a long time but could never get it just right. You did, and I thank you. May I re-blog this on either my knitting blog, writing blog, or daily blog? If you prefer I not, that’s fine, too. Just, thank you 🙂 and God bless!

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  45. Amen, BBB!

    I just listened to the 4th part in this sermon series by a pastor out in Portland, Oregon–Door of Hope Church. You might like it:

    http://www.doorofhopepdx.org/media/sermons/category/body-life-culture-after-christ.html

    I’m going to check out the other parts over the weekend. Also, give Josh Garrels a listen on Pandora, if you haven’t already listened to this guy. He’s connected to worship at this church. I stumbled across him while listening to Gregory Alan Isakov. Now, I’m listening to Josh Garrels Radio all the time.

    Either way, the series is called, Culture After Christ 🙂 Thanking God that you continue to shine, beloved sister and friend!

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  47. “Because the world can seem like a spiritual wasteland, void of goodness and gentleness and hope.”

    Being an atheist doesn’t mean you can’t find beauty, hope or spirituality. It doesn’t mean you have to live in a spiritual wasteland or that you need to just chase materialistic things. You’re also not alone – you’re surrounded by other people, friends, potential friends, family, loved ones and even other life forms such as dogs and cats, with which you can bond and grow together with.

    I don’t feel that your answer is much of an answer at all, because it assumes that without god you can’t have any of the other things you talk about. I assure you, my spiritual life is full. I love and am loved and I’m definitely not alone. I see gentleness and hope every day, since I work in the social services field; mostly with the deaf-blind. Believe me, I hope is no stranger to my eyes and I don’t need an invisible, supernatural agent to see, notice or enjoy those things.

    Just some food for thought.

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    1. Hi friend, thank you for this perspective. I really appreciate you sharing this insight. Yes, there are some truly fulfilling things in life-friends, family, helping others in service – all those things you mentioned. They’re definitely life giving. There truly is goodness and gentleness to be found – because at the end of the day, we have that goodness in our hearts. Thanks for opening this dialogue. Hugs and love xox

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  48. This is beautiful. I really see such an expansion of your open heart! ❤ So many blessings your way, friend.
    By the way, my spiritual mentors John-Roger and John Morton have said something like … look for the good in all people and things, and leave the rest to God. Then you will start having peace.
    Words to live by 🙂

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