Thank you to all of you who have prayed for Ivan and me and our little one. I won’t go into details about the medical issues besides saying the doctor believed, after a physical check, that I might experience complications in pregnancy. An ultrasound this week seems to show that everything’s okay and has relieved my mind greatly, though I am still waiting to hear the doctor’s confirmation. Thank you again for praying.
I finished listening to The Great Gatsby, that classic of the Roaring Twenties, on audiobook this morning. I don’t want to throw spoilers at those of you who haven’t read it, but I do want to talk about Gatsby’s green light and what that means to a Christian. If you don’t like spoilers, plug your ears for a few minutes. Or better yet, go read the book; then come back and read this.
Gatsby’s Green Light
Jay Gatsby was a man of great ambition and humble circumstances who fell in love with a girl of great beauty and wealth. She represented to him something he gave his life to attain: beauty, influence, and power. When he had achieved all of it but the woman, he bought a mansion just across the bay from her house. At nights, he used to stand by the water and stretch his arms toward a single green light that glowed across the bay–a light from her home.
To a reader of The Great Gatsby, the light comes to represent hope, a stretching after something beyond. This Beyond calls from us our time, our allegiance, and our lives. Beauty is part of the beyond that we reach for, as well as high ideals and a desire to be a part of great things.
Because we are human, along with our desire for what is unequivocally good, we also desire influence, power, or control. We cannot tell whether this desire is good or evil. Good, we tell ourselves, because we want to do good in the world. But we cannot always tell if our motivation is really to do good, or if it is only to make a name for ourselves.
Sometimes our noblest desires look suspiciously identical to desires for money, for popularity, for fame, for sexual conquest. We reach to be as wealthy or as respected as our neighbors, and then we reach beyond them for more wealth and more respect.
And then, one day, like Gatsby, we die.
What Does Gatsby’s Green Light have to Do with Following Jesus?
When Gatsby was at the apex of wealth, partygoers flocked to his mansion. When he died, only three people showed up at his funeral. No one else cared.
And that is the irony of the beyond that we reach for. The beyond is never enough, never satisfies, always leaves us lonely.
Jesus told us this. Today, live only today, he said. Don’t try to amass power or material things, but instead store treasure in heaven.
One of the hardest necessities I know as a writer and a Christian is to give up reaching for the green light. As I wrote in Anything But Simple, I want my work to be known, real, heard. After I die, I want to be remembered as an author who contributed great things to literature.
But as a follower of Jesus, I dare not be driven by a desire for influence, achievement, or fame. “Set your affection on things above,” the apostle Paul reminds us. “Not on things on the earth. For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory.”
As Christians, we forego our green light in this life, having faith to believe we will reach it in the next. Life is not perfect, we know. But the next one will be.
My questions is this: how do we know we will get what we reach for? How do we know there is a green light beyond the grave? If Gatsby gave everything to achieve his green light and lost it, how do we know there is more for us?
Could it be that any belief in an afterlife is only pushing humanity’s green light of hope further into the future, pushing it so far we can never be disappointed, never be proven wrong?
If you are a follower of Jesus, how do you know your expectation will be fulfilled? What proof do you have?
Please tell me what you think.
First of all, I like the way you write, second I will keep praying for you and the baby, third nothing is impossible with God!
I enjoy the comparison of this post with Gatsby.
Jesus is The Creator, part of the triunity of The one and only living God. A lot of His promises have been fulfill and there is more to come, like His return. Faith in His name was the first step for me and during my journey towards Him, I have seen miracles in my life that only God can do.
My expectations ? One day I will live in a new earth with no sin, Hallelujah !
Amen!
Personal miracles are a powerful evidence at a personal level… and often for onlookers too. The book The Insanity of God tells stories of miracles God did for individuals… it’s a book that strengthened my faith tremendously.
Jesus promised to take his flowers where he is. I trust in that promise.
These are thought-provoking concepts and you wrote this well. You are making me look deep inside to see what my life motivations are. To answer your haunting, closing question –I don’t think we have indisputable proof. Obviously, there are many brilliant minds who have not found the proof indisputable. However, there are also many, equally brilliant, who believe, and sometimes I rest in the faith of the church as a whole when my own faith is weak. The evidence for faith which seems most convincing to me is the resurrection of Jesus.
I appreciate these words, Sarah. Well thought.
“God has put enough into the world to make faith in Him a most reasonable thing. But He has left enough out to make it impossible to live by sheer reason or observation alone.”
I have always liked this quote. It means that we can investigate the facts and test the logic and we will find that Christianity stands these tests well… but in the end we are called to faith. Trust.
When times of doubt come and that secular voice that frames everything in terms of chance and coincidence seems loud in my head, I ask God for greater faith. I ask Him to give me the faith of a child – simple and trusting and satisfied.
In C S Lewis’ story, “The Silver Chair”, the characters, for a while, are trapped in an underground world where things are dark. The warmth of the sun seems distant, and someone calls into question their belief that they ever were above ground – that such a thing as a sun even exists. In a moment of clarity, one character says this:
All you’ve been saying is quite right, I shouldn’t wonder. I’m a chap who always liked to know the worst and then put the best face I can on it… but suppose we have only dreamed or made up all those things – trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours IS the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one… We’re just babies making up a game, if you’re right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That’s why I’m going to stand by the play-world. I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it. I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia.
That’s beautiful, Holly. Gives me shivers. Thank you.
As a child, I pondered this question a lot. I wondered what I would do in heaven for all of eternity. (I still do). It was going to be so boring, I thought. I mean, forever is a really, really long time! What is there going to be to do there, I wondered? I could only compare it to life here on earth which was filled with sandboxes and swingsets and spending hours playing with people cut-outs from Sears catalogs. I could not comprehend forever then, and I certainly cannot even comprehend it now. But I know it is real because of the relationship I have with Jesus Christ. What I have experienced in life as His child is real. When I begin to wonder about eternity and about death and what it will be like in heaven, I go back to that relationship. Yes, there are times when God seems distant and far away. But the times when I am close to Him and experience oneness, those are the times that solidify my faith. Life is not easy, but I truly can trace His hand. Because of what I experience with Him now, I believe. (And Luci, you and that baby of yours is now on my prayer list)
Thank you so much, Gertrude. ❤️
I love this so much!
I do think that there is an element of future Hope and the Beyond that we can look towards in this life and the afterlife. I don’t think there could truly, genuinely be proof, but my own and others’ (and collective humanity’s) experiences with the heart and goodness of God feels like proof to me.
I also think finding my “Green Light” here and now, finding contentment and joy for every good thing in my current life, letting go of fantasies about some future, better life, is worth so much!
Ultimately, any “dream” I’ve achieved so far doesn’t live up to my fantasy about it. Being loved and known by God does, though. I don’t think the afterlife will change this.
The thoughts you shared about contentment and joy in this moment being worth more than dreams… that sounds exactly like conclusions I have had. I think I can tell that we’re cousins. :)
Two things convince me. Firstly, the Living Presence within me who Jesus said would come and dwell with us. He said specifically that The Holy Spirit would remind us of, and teach those things He taught. That happens to me. In my darkest times, I choose to use doubt as a cue to walk by faith.
Secondly, I’m always tuned in to the amazing numbers and order of the creation. I enjoy reading the science news articles just to see what else humans are baffled about. I figure the Mastermind behind it all can do as He will. I don’t even know how to fathom the rest. Who evens gets what eternity is! You said “expectations” in your question. Please qualify that word.
I’m motivated to belief through relationship with a resurrected Jesus and I’m awed to trust through observation of creation.
Proof is a silly human desire to finally nail down all the things to logic and numbers. If that could be done with something as glorious as our God and whatever else He has going; this whole business of life would be entirely pointless. I can’t stand that idea frankly.
Thank you for this heartfelt answer, Arla. When I spoke of “expectations” I was referring to the expectation of life in a better place after death. I agree that proof is not something to try for in many areas of life… there are many things that are not in the realm of the physical and are not best understood in terms of “proof.” In the area of faith, I think it is reasonable and good to consider evidence, but to try to “prove” something not of this world is like comparing an apple to an orange.
Jesus’ words: “I go to prepare a place for you” Is so real a promise to me. Life isn’t always easy. But when I see the glorious and amazing things God created here on this hard earth…. all the beautiful pictures He paints for us in the sky….What then will heaven be like!!!!? A place He has ready for me. A place where He is. A place to rest. Surpassing anything I ever dreamed of or hoped for in this life. Exceeding and completing the things I may never have accomplished or finished here. 🙂
I love that, Kathy.
Of all the world views, Jesus Christ is the only (God) that rose from the dead and is still living here in the spirit. The spirit? His presence has been, and is too real in my life to not recognize it. We have his promises in the Bible and they line up with what He said. Therefore I believe He will return to take His children home to the mansions He has prepared because He said He would. We can believe or disbelieve that. I choose to believe.
Thank you for this, Martha.
Proof/demand of knowledge is still the human’s intent to control the outcome. Human nature – especially for those of us who struggle with the concept of submission – doesn’t like to give up on the smallest semblance of control over our lives. It could be rooted in fear or pride but the outcome is often the same. We do not want to ‘let go’ and ‘let God’ because we aren’t sure we ‘qualify’ or ‘have followed our green light’ or should be turning our back on it. But the greatest blessing is to find that God is not demanding of us in return. He waits for us to turn to Him and find the blessings He has ready for us. If we believe in God’s love for us, and truly believe we are loved, then the afterlife doesn’t have to be hoped for. It is a given. And I’m positive beyond expression that heaven will not be boring or ‘nothing to do’ – I am looking forward to health, energy and love. A love greater than anything I have experienced here on earth!
I wonder what Christians would think of devout Muslim ladies saying that it’s best to not get too wrapped up in merely human reason, and that we need to let go of our need for proof–that the rock-solid certainty they feel, born out of relationship with Allah and from witnessing his work in their own lives, is all the proof they need.
Until I went away to school I didn’t realize that devout members of religions other than Christianity also claim first-hand, undeniable experience with personal relationships and miraculous deeds, and base their faith upon that. Growing up as a Christian we ‘learned’ about other religions by reading accounts of Christians who converted from them–which is like telling atheists to read Richard Dawkins to understand Christianity.
If I know something with absolute certainty, I don’t see how that proves anything other than the state of my own mind.
My husband and I were talking about this, too, Brenna. I guess faith is outside the realms of proof. The apostle Paul talks about holding fast the confidence of our “hope”, not our certainty. The definition Hebrews gives of faith is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
I like this, Liz. I think the desire to control definitely has something to do with a demand for proof. Good thoughts.
Pingback: From the Balcony at Church - Lucinda J Kinsinger
Seems like stuff comes from something. And an infinite regression of causes is no answer. God fits the answer perfectly. He is the uncaused Cause. The unmoved Mover. The satisfaction of unquenched hopes. Before philosophers could posit the questions, He showed Adam the answers. The whole of life shouts of an infinite Being undergirding reality. Where does our visceral sense of Morality come from but from The Lawgiver? How does mathematics map so perfectly onto our intricate physical world without a Creative Designer? Why does historical evidence point so strongly to an empty grave without The Life.
I think those arguments don’t convince nonbelievers as much as they bolster the faith of people who already believe–it’s a long way from “I don’t know where everything came from” to “I believe in one specific god, namely this one, the god of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”!
I largely agree with you, Brenna. People are rarely converted through “proof” or good arguments. People are capable of rejecting even the most well-reasoned propositions. It’s called choice. Humans are also deeply influenced by relationships. The best of arguments can hardly compete with hurt feelings.
However, I must say that Jesus’ resurrection, if believed, brings you right to the feet of the God of Abraham. And, it seems to me, there is plenty of historical evidence to reasonably believe that the tomb is empty.
Good questions. I have thought a lot about morality, too, as evidence of a good God. I have never known and could not imagine a person who doesn’t believe in absolute right and wrong or at least have a gut instinct for it. And where does that certainty come from if not planted there by God?
‘…relieved my mind greatly…’ — the shift this represents is wonderful.