Though some with certainty insist no certainty exists...

All things come to an end, or so they say. This school year draws to a close and I find myself doubting the veracity of that cliched statement. All things do end in one sense, but yet there is an eternal nature to the particular temporal events that make up our lives. Just as notes in a song only hold meaning in reference to their relationship with the other notes of the piece, so to do the events of today only hold meaning in reference to all that has come before, and all that is waiting just around the corner. 

As an avid reader, life often feels like a book to me. There is closure to sections of my life just as there is closure when I flip a page or come to the end of a chapter. However the next page or chapter is meaningless without the content that preceded it. 

It seems that much of the advice that is given or received in this life comes in the form of ideals. Ideal ways of life are held up in contrast to the reality of our lived experience and we are encouraged to repent of our old ways, forsaking all that came before and embracing this new ideal. The Church in particular holds out this type of advice, preaching repentance from sins to embrace a new life in Christ. This is in accordance with Scriptures, however there is not a whole lot of instruction as to how that is supposed to look. Attempt after attempt is made at some form of repentance which often merely becomes an attempt at stripping a previous identity and trying to manage within a brand new, directionless identity. 

The idea that we can completely leave behind all that has come before and have a fresh start is the failed project of modernism. Time after time in Scripture, God takes people from where they are at and miraculously takes them to a new place, working with who they are. He loves people from starting point to wherever they end up, and I would even argue that he allows/puts people through the events of their lives to form very specific servants for him. In light of God's eternal love, things don't come to an end, I am loved before, during and after. Life leaves its marks, for better or for worse and they don't go away, but perhaps that isn't such a bad thing. As Kurt Driedger sings, "I wouldn't have it any other way".