Love the Life You Choose

Hold the mirror up to Christ

First off, I’d like to apologize for not posting more often. In fact, this is only my third post, but who’s counting? Oh, well I guess the Post counter. Damn…

Anyway, I think of Incarnationalism as an artistic and spiritual philosophy. Therefore, I only feel the need to post when I have thoughts upon the meeting of theology and the arts. And since they’re my two favorite subjects, I love it when that happens. As a side note, my favorite spiritually engaging films are “Simon Birch”, “Dogma”, “Signs”, and “The Passion of the Christ”. (I’m sorry, Brian, I know you hate “Dogma”, but that’s a discussion for another day…)

But I digress. Brian’s last post brought up a lot of issues that are very much about what I think Incarnationalism stands for. I could have just replied to his post, but I thought since I can, I should just make one of my own. I’ve thought extensively about how to live a life emulating Christ. Obviously we aren’t all called to move to Nazareth, become carpenters until we’re thirty, preach for three years, and then die on the Cross. That would probably the decrease the amount of Christian converts, let me tell you. So how does yours truly for example, live like Christ as a theatre student in Richmond, VA in the year 2005?

I’ve had a few theological discussions with my Dad over the years and one of the things he said to me was, “Wherever you are, that’s exactly where you’re supposed to be.” I don’t know if he came up with that himself, or if he got it from somewhere else but it doesn’t matter. I believe that I am meant to be in this place right this second. Wherever I am ten years from right now, I am meant to be there then too. You get the idea. This may seem like an obvious or even clichéd idea, but I think it rings true.

Now, you may ask, you’re supposed to be exactly where you are. Now what? I think of Jesus’ Greatest Commandments, “Love God with all your strength, heart, soul and mind and love your neighbor as yourself.” You might ask, how do you do that? One of the things they drilled into our heads in Catholic school was to recognize the presence of God in every human being. Even if they’re a pompous jerk or a mass murderer, they’re still one of His precious children and deserve respect. If we treat every single person that we come across with dignity and kindness then we are truly living the Christian life.

God has a plan for all of us. But it isn’t just “Hey Julie, go be an architect” or “Hey Habib, go be a literature professor”. God has a plan He wants us to follow every day, every hour, and every minute. And I believe that He will send you exactly the work that you need to do exactly when you need to do it. It may be something you think you’re not ready for, but it is never and I repeat NEVER something you can’t handle. Although it may seem like it. The best thing to do is to pray for the guidance to recognize what needs to be done and the strength to do it. Remember, God is the fountain “from whom all good things come”. Enjoy the things of this world, because they come from Him. Recognize the presence of God, not just in people but in comedy, music, and athletics. I apologize if these ideas seem simplistic, but it’s just the way I see things. Have fun!

posted by Ian Koranek @ 4:15 AM