Envisioning Telos

 Envisioning Telos

       You may already know something about this Greek word that we will discuss this week because it's meaning taps into the big picture issues of life.    I'm sure that your pastor has used this word in his/ her sermons due to the impact it has on theological understandings.                        

 With telos, many great things have been accomplished in this world but Without telos, some of the smallest things that we experience in life are chocked out of our reality.  Sometimes people who have lost their telos will fall into deep dark depression, some have died.   So, let's talk about telos this week.

    Telos is Purpose

      Defined: The end of a goal-directed process, especially the Aristotelian final cause..

  As humans, our minds are driven to understand the world around us in a way that looks for purpose.  Not just what else does this can opener do besides open cans but what is the end goal and purpose for the making of this thing.   telos has more to do with what will a certain process bring about and how will it effect the world around it?

       We all have thought about what is our purpose in a job or task, maybe a group has a certain purpose looking to accomplish an outcome and this is important in life.   

  The Psalmist said....

   Psalm 73:28 says, "But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works."

    Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 1 What is the chief end of man?  And the answer is, “Man's chief end is to glorify God, an enjoy Him forever. 

       You see, in the Biblical sense, we were created to glorify God, or to use our abilities and skills to impact the world in a certain way.... A way in which God has determined.   You may think that you think strangely but in the biblical sense you were brought into this world with a purpose for your life and to make a change in the lives of those that you encounter.   So. When people encounter you, they will be a little different than when you first met them.   

       The second part of the answer is very important too, because it speaks of fulfillment in life.   As we seek to glorify God in our lives with the skills, gifts and talents we have, we find that we have the experience of the benefit of feeling useful in the world around us.  This usefulness is not the telos of the big picture but it points to the reality of our ultimate telos, enjoying God forever.  The fulfillment we feel is that we are actually doing what God purposed us to do.  This whole teaching opposes the idea of Charles Darwin the author of 'Origin of the Species'.   When we know our purpose, we find what we are to be doing while in this world and get a sense of our actions being bigger than ourselves.   

       Your specific job here at on your team has meaning and purpose but if you think about it you could have worked anywhere doing anything, how you see your purpose defines how you end up serving the world around you.  Looking from the 'Bird's eye view' you have a broader understanding of why you have this job on this team doing what you do with excellence and intension and for a greater purpose.    So, serve your particular purpose on the team you work with.  Do it with great planning, excellence and passion and then feel the great rush of fulfillment that gives you a sense of God's purpose for your life and it's ultimate ends.  A great enjoyment with God. 

 May God bless you.    May there be a fusillade of grace, by way of direction, connecting, compassion that grant you success in your efforts to offer support and hope to patients and their families.  Amen

Thy Will Be Done: Grown Folks Version

Thy Will be Done; Grown Folks version

      ^NLT Matthew 6:10 May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven.

       Asking for the will of God to be done here in this world is a very difficult thing for any human being to do.  Many people use this phrase to sanction their own desire and to help everyone get on board with what they would like to do but it is much more.   Really asking for the will of The Lord to be done means that we are submitting our own will to be destroyed at the mercy of the perfect will of God.  This perfect will, usually comes at some very simple yet possibly difficult discipline to my own intentions.  God’s perfect will is rarely understood by humans yet it becomes so clear that we cannot deny the justice, dynamic or powerful impression carried out by it when completed.   Our will can make a difference in the lives of others. We do many good and noble things but when it comes to the will of God, he wills and does things that may have lasting effect on the broader society, the nation and even the world as time moves forward. 

     God’s will is tough because many times it calls for a sacrifice that someone must give.  When you pray, “Thy will done in earth as it is in heaven.” Do you mean, “I am willing to sacrifice my own priorities so that the greater, wiser, most holy and perfect thing that will be done for all ages be done in my life and for the future after me.???  That’s a big ask!!!   Jesus instructs us to pray in such a way.  The will of God is a plan for the whole of history, that is why it rubs us the wrong way.  We all would like to leave our mark on the world but most do not want to uproot their lives and the lives of everyone they know in order to be a mover and shaker of history.  Martin Luther, the great reformer, said that “this prayer is dangerous because it means we give obedience without talking back.” 

       We are comforted by the words, “The will of God will never take you to where the grace of God will not protect you.”  A great saying but it does not tell you that the will of God is not given in memos to follow but actions, responsibilities, circumstances, highs and low and many other players that enter onto the stage of life.  When we look at the great sacrifices of many in history, we are given great notice to how the will of God means that our desires are submitted to His for a better outcome.  Mother Teresa, Harriet Tubman, William Wilberforce, Martin Luther King, Jr.  We are to do the will of God even when it calls for the difficult tasks to be taken up and drives us towards an outcome that honors God and looks to the right and the left to include the goodwill of those around us.  Jesus is informing us that we must ask for help from God to be responsible to carry out God’s desire for our life along with the hard choices that come along with it. 

    There is only one human who knows the will of God and desires always to do what it takes to fulfill that perfect will, Jesus.  ^NLT John 4:34 Then Jesus explained: "My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work.” 

^NLT Hebrews 10:5 That is why Christ, when he came into the world, said, "You did not want animal sacrifices and grain offerings. But you have given me a body so that I may obey you. ⁶ No, you were not pleased with animals burned on the altar or with other offerings for sin. ⁷ Then I said, 'Look, I have come to do your will, O God-- just as it is written about me in the Scriptures.' " ⁸ Christ said, "You did not want animal sacrifices or grain offerings or animals burned on the altar or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them" (though they are required by the law of Moses).

       To accomplish the will of God in your life means that some of the intentions you hold close will be sacrificed for the sake of someone God intends to touch and change forever.

This is “Thy Will Be Done: Grown Folks Version”

May God bless you to know His presence, peace and safety as you seek to experience the love of God through Jesus Christ in our world.  May there be a fusillade of faith, grace, and joy to lead you to His truth daily.  Amen