In the early 20th century Albert Einstein tried to combine his theory of general relativity with electromagnetism. I know what you’re thinking, huh? Wait for it. The idea behind it was to create a “theory of everything” or Unified Field Theory. An equation that tried to bring together separate fields of study.
I love the audacity of Einstein’s vision. To infer that the universe has a connectedness is something that resonates with me. While Einstein was never able to finish the equation, he definitely stretched the thinking of most.
There is a phrase I use a lot, “think grapes not apples”. It’s a phrase my mentor , Dr Ron Kydd used in trying to describe historical events (incidentally this was perfect considering he was teaching history). His claim was that in trying to understand the complexities of large events (the apples) one must first examine the small events (the grapes) leading up to it. To see past the big events and to examine the smaller occurrences in life.
Why am I telling you this? I think in our faith journeys we tend to think apples and not grapes. We look for the mountain top experiences as the defining moment of our walk with God. “If I was only in that country doing that, if only my life was different”. I think a part of us thinks that our lives aren’t exciting enough, meaningful enough. We fall into wishful thinking. But I think that we need to see the “grapes” of our lives with a little more importance.
Everyday you wake up, and you live your life. You enter into the reality of your daily existence. Do you see the grapes surrounding you? The small decisions that will eventually become big events. The forging of a destiny in the mundaneness of life. I love the idea behind a passage in Ecclesiastes “I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time. People can never predict when hard times might come. Like fish in a net or birds in a trap, people are caught by sudden tragedy.” Ecclesiastes 9:11-12.
This is a fantastic passage. It basically says, things don’t happen the way that you want or think. That life doesn’t play fair. This is called the “no duh” moment.
We have no idea what awaits us. The big events of our lives are sometimes (maybe most times) unexpected. But God knows. He is not caught unaware by our lives. Another phrase I use a lot is “control is an illusion” (apparently I use a lot of phrases). We cannot control the mountain events of our lives (even Peter couldn’t stay up there). But what we can control is our daily decisions to pursue God. To consciously live our faith out moment by moment. To trust an infinite God with our finite existence. To not long for the “apples” (which are rare and fleeting), but enjoy the “grapes”.
And maybe in our seeming daily drudgery we call life; we are unknowingly but without a doubt scaling the side of a mountain.
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Raja Stone is youth and young adults pastor at Creekside Church in Waterloo, Ontario.