What's in my Control?
The Missio Dei blog is intended to provide space for a diverse array of voices, stories, and experiences from within and around our community. While we celebrate the ongoing journey of each beloved member of our community and contributor to our blog, the views expressed here do not necessarily reflection the positions, beliefs, or views of Missio Dei as an organization.
By Zach Medlin
Recently one of my friends in house church was reading over Ecclesiastes 3 and reflecting on verse 18-22:
“18 I also said to myself, “As for humans, God tests them so that they may see
that they are like the animals. 19 Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the
animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have
the same breath[c]; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is
meaningless. 20 All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all
return. 21 Who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the
animal goes down into the earth?”22 So I saw that there is nothing better for a
person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them
to see what will happen after them?”
They captured the feeling well, saying: “Yeah so you live and die, you can’t control anything you think you can, wicked people, good people, and animals all end up in the same way. Or at least, who knows where they end up except God. God literally puts eternity into the human heart, but I will never be able to fathom it. Cool, I love that.” Sitting with his words, we offered an anxious laugh as a response as we sat with our friend’s words.
If I had to nail down what I’ve reflected on most in our time with Ecclesiastes, it would be the nature of control. I know I feel the need for it in my life. “If I can get this job, I’ll be happy”, “If I can get this person to respect me, I’ll be fulfilled”, “If I can just ignore this burning emotion in my stomach, I’ll find peace…” and the list goes on. The more I grow and learn though, the more I realize how absolutely rudderless life is sometimes, despite how desperately I want to control it. It’s especially jarring to me because Ecclesiastes lets me know that God may have indeed designed some aspects of life this way.
What conclusion does the teacher in Ecclesiastes come to? They share with us: “So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?”
“So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?”
What is the work that we are called to? In our context, that is the work of Christ, being the hands and feet of God Incarnate to the oppressed, marginalized, and forgotten. To spread gospel truth to those who have not heard, and to share love with our community. When we shift our perspective we see that, to the contrary of everything I’ve just written above, we do in fact have a lot of control. We can control when we choose to love our neighbor, when we choose to be vulnerable in community, when we offer our time, talents, and finances to our community and world. We can choose to be thoughtful, to practice empathy, to tell our friends when we think of them, to have hard conversations that help us grow. You and I can even choose to see humanity with it’s flaws, anger, betrayal, and evil intentions and say “I love you. Yes, yes, and yes again forever.” This is the love we are offered, and it was a choice. We also have control to make the same choice.
