Silly or Deep?

Recently, a friend of mine asked a question on his blog: What if you wish upon a star and later find out that it was a satellite? I answered it this way:

Great question.

It seems to me the question isn't a silly one at all. It's actually really deep: what do we do when mysterious beauty and possibility are replaced by scientific certainty? I could take "scientific certainty" to task for being less scientific and certain than it is, but the more interesting question is what do you do when something, anything, destroys the mysteriously beautiful possibilities in life?

There is a sense in which Jesus is inviting us into those possibilities when he tells us that if we have sufficient faith, we can move a mountain. Most folks get the hyperbole here, but it is still a fascinating statement. Life is full of the possibility-versus-certainty tension. Will I be happy? Will I ever have a family? What if I end up poor? Will riches make me happy? My point is this: it is the questions we engage that make life really interesting.

What is it like to follow Jesus whole-heartedly? Could I really trust him with everything in my life? What if I sold all I had and gave it to the poor? What would happen then? Can I really do all the things he did, and more? Am I trying to keep my life? Will I lose it then? What if I really do let go...?

A scientist with a microscope and a telescope (or satellite) can't answer those kinds of questions. A scientist can't strip them of their beauty and possibility. That's why we're still asking them after all of these years.


How would you answer?

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