Modern society claims that "I am my own and belong to myself." We imagine freedom as "the absence of constraints." This false anthropology imposes a terrible burden on us: if this is true, it puts on us "the responsibility to justify our existence, to create an identity, to discover meaning, to choose values, and to belong." Author Alan Noble refers to these as the "Responsibilities of Self-Belonging."
Noble argues that our culture's embrace of this self-belonging concept has ultimately led us to where we are today: we spend our lives seeking affirmation ('like and follow!') and meaning (so long as it's optional), putting efficiency as the ultimate good (no rest for us! always more to do), and pursuing (but never achieving) a satisfied or content life (focusing instead on medicating ourselves through meaningless "sad-making" distractions or other coping mechanisms). In short, such a society "will develop into a hypercompetitive society, one in which we all must fight for survival, validation, meaning, attention, and affirmation." It promises (but never delivers) "a full and satisfying life." We respond by affirming (if we're one of the 'winners') or resignation (if the 'losers'). In either, we are overcome by fatigue and/or inadequacy. "Thank God we are not our own."
The question is not "who am I?" but "whose am I?" If we belong to God, our life looks very different indeed. "If we belong to God, then knowing and abiding by His limits enables us to live as we were created to live, as the humans He designed us to be." And we'll find that "our longings are met in union with Christ when we accept our belonging to Him."
In Christ, we see that "your existence is good and right and significant because a loving God intentionally created you and continues to give you your every breath. Your life is significant whether you choose to see it that way or not . . . " and you will realize "that your life is not a quest for significance or self-actualization, but an act of joyful participation in God's grace." We will have God's standard and guidelines for how to live. We will see our sinfulness—how far we fall short of God's standard. And if we belong to Christ through believing in him (and his sacrifice on the cross, in our place), "God looks at our face and sees the beauty and righteousness of His Son. And the judge of all assures us that we are loved, accepted, and adored." We will be free to serve God and neighbor not to belong, but because we belong. And our "obligation is to honor God with our lives." He calls us to faithfulness, not success. To love our neighbor and seek the good of the city in which we live, but not to be personally responsible for saving it (as only God can). And to rest, trusting in his sovereignty and goodness. And there is true freedom and comfort indeed. As the Heidelberg Catechism states,
- Q. What is your only comfort in life and death?
- A. That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ.
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Great book! Repetitive and wandering at times, but well worth the read.
Rating: A
