by J. Randal Matheny

It is that the process is more important than the end result. It is what you learn while you're dreaming or scheming or working toward a goal that is essential and valuable, not the achievement of the goal itself. (Arthur C. Clarke & Gentry Lee, Cradle: A Novel [New York, NY: Warner Books, 1988], p. 407)

Though popular, the sentiment conflicts with divine teaching because of certain assumptions it contains.

First, process-over-results thinking emphasizes the here-and-now. It's the old philosophy of eat, drink, and be merry. We know where that got the rich man; besides the title of "rich fool," he lost it all in one whack, both goods and soul. It's new clothes for the old hedonism. Enjoy the journey! Don't worry so much about getting to wherever it is you're going.

So the here-and-now undercuts the HOPE of future joy.

What a contrast to the Good News of eternal destination! Time and place are merely the proving grounds for celestial bliss and perfection. "... we will be like him, because we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2 ESV). Why settle for admiring a rose that withers tomorrow when we can have the Son's perfection that lasts forever?!

Second, hidden deeply in the folds of the joys of riding over arriving is evolutionary meaningless. The beginning quote above comes from a science fiction novel which invents millions of evolved life forms and a superior race that would seed the earth with perfected human beings. Why all the interest, fictional and scientific, in postulating and searching for life in the universe? Perhaps to throw some meaningful rags over the naked futility of evolutionary theory.

For evolutionists, there is no meaning, no purpose to life. It's pointless, "no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but pitiless indifference."* History has no direction. There is nothing to believe in. So why not invent ETs who might have even started everything here on earth? Besides that, let's just go with what we can see right in front of us.

So the random process douses FAITH in the invisible, purposeful God.

Man stopped talking about "creation" and substituted "Nature." But all this had a starting point, and it will have an end point. God embued his creation with purpose and direction. Beginning, middle, and conclusion. Planet Earth will be destroyed, not by man's folly or through a universal fluke, but by divine timing and reason. From the degeneration of creation, God would pull from the flames as many as possible to save them.

His purpose is "set forth in Christ" (Eph. 1:9). Such a grand purpose is eternal (Eph. 3:11). All this was set in motion even before the material world was brought into existence (1 Pet. 1:19-20). Man's internal yearning for meaning finds its answer in the overarching plans of the Lord.

Third, the exhortations to stop and smell the roses have only goals that are humanly derived and human sized. There is no goal large enough to capture the imagination and call for the dedication of the entire being. That is why the process becomes more important than the end result, the journey more interesting than the destination.

So that means that LOVE is diminished to whatever catches the eye.

To a Christian, the one goal which overshadows all else is to know God through Christ, to experience fully his love and presence. All is done "to gain Christ ... that [we] may know him and the power of his resurrection ... that by any means possible [we] may attain the resurrection from the dead" (Phil. 3:8,10-11). The resurrection means we will not longer see through a glass darkly, but will know him as we are known, fully, free from earthly limitations.

You and I have the wonderful opportunity to get caught up in this divine goal, so much larger than ourselves, so much more wonderful than any project we could devise, beyond our imperfect moment and painful present.

In hope. By faith. For love.

There is nothing else but the goal itself.

*Quoted in "I Wish I Had a Belief System [Part I]," by Bert Thompson. See the various quotes in the article to this effect.

by J. Randal Matheny

"I recollect with admiration an animating blaze of eloquence, which rouzed [sic] every intellectual power in me to the highest pitch, but much have dazzled me so much, that my memory could not preserve the substance of his discourse; ..." (Jas. Boswell, Life of Samuel Johnson).

Randal's modern translation: The delivery was so good, I forgot the content. Mr. Boswell was so impressed with the speaker that the message was lost in the dazzle.

Not many of us are as eloquent as the subject of Boswell's observations. But preachers, teachers, writers, and other users of the word are often tempted to soup up the message. How many times have we used an illustration that people remember afterwards, but forgot what it was supposed to illustrate?

God's ambassadors eschew literary flourishes of eloquence. Says straight-talking Paul, "And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:1-2, ESV). Paul was less concerned with delivery than with his single subject.

Paul's words were so plain that people could get away with accusing that "his personal presence [was] unimpressive and his speech contemptible" (2 Cor. 10:10, NASU).

Would people have a hard time of making such a mean charge stick to my communication of the gospel?

I don't want to offer rehashed blather. On the other hand, I pray people may always be impressed with God's plan in Jesus rather than a cute story or turn of phrase I might offer.

Plain and simple will get the job done.

Boswell would approve.

Freshman Week by J. Randal Matheny

In a phone conversation some weeks ago with Jim Brown, Admissions Director at Freed-Hardeman University, he mentioned that one of the greatest challenges for incoming freshmen is time management.

Indeed, time is of the essence for a positive and successful college experience.

Here are my best ten tips for making the best use of your time in college.

1. Don't skip class. The class is the main event of college study. Here, teacher and student have their maximum opportunity to pursue learning. See the class period as the real reason you're at college.

2. Review class notes often, soon after the class. Weekly reviews will help you to retain the information needed and avoid last minute cramming for tests.

3. Plan ahead. Late-night stints to finish research papers and reports won't garner many good grades. Do assigned readings early, and pace yourself in getting assignments done.

4. Be on time. For class, with assignments and papers, for appointments, with deadlines. Punctuality keeps you on top of your schedule and your life.

5. Prioritize and balance your schedule. Put study and classwork up front. Fit in service and social clubs and other recreational activities behind your main task. Buy and use a week-at-glance planner.

6. Know what's expected. The class syllabus starts you off well, and tips from the professor and even former students will give you a good idea of his expectations and approach.

7. Choose your friends carefully. They will either encourage you in your studies or hinder your progress. Your roommate may be a key figure as well.

8. Choose your associations well. By that, I mean clubs and groups. Go for the professional groups in your area of study, the religious clubs that will encourage your spirituality. College is a time of great fun, and it should be, but why pay tens of thousands of dollars for just a good time?

9. Take advantage of advisors and mentors. In many universities, especially Christian institutions, so many good people are cheering for your success. The advisor's job is to help you overcome the challenges. Often, teachers are looking for capable students to take under their wing and mentor for future service. Search them out, and don't be afraid to ask for help.

10. Keep the end in view. When you walk across the graduating stage, what kind of record do you want to have left behind? The way you use your time today will determine your college history tomorrow, as well as future opportunities for employment, service, and success.

Lots of time management tips are out there, but the main issue is self-discipline. Mom and Dad are no longer standing over to prod and remind. If you didn't learn how to pace yourself at home, get up at certain hours, sleep at a decent time, you now have the challenge of using your time responsibly.

Self-discipline can be learned. It is part of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). As we crucify self and allow the Spirit of God to work in our life, we will produce the self-control needed for the tasks ahead.

That means Moses' prayer is also appropriate in this context. "So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom" (Psa. 90:12 ESV).

It may seem there is so much time to do things. Numbering our days means, among other things, recognizing that the minutes are ticking and what needs to be done should be done as soon as possible.

No matter how old you are, Paul's words apply to all of us:

"Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires" (Rom. 13:11-14).

Time is the currency of life. Spend it well.

by J. Randal Matheny

A novel I'm reading portrays the main character as having been devastated by the death of his son because of cancer. He becomes suicidal, not finding rhyme or reason in the world for the suffering that exists.

Habakkuk is not far from that character. His questions are even larger, even tougher. But instead of thinking of putting a gun in his mouth, the prophet puts his questions to God.

"O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you 'Violence!' and you will not save?" (Hab. 1:2, ESV). Habakkuk is desperate for an answer, but doesn't give up calling on the Lord. In fact, he knows that the only place he can get an answer to his doubts and questions is with the Lord.

The prophet's big Problem is violence. Not natural disaster, but man-to-man cruelty and oppression. He uses the word six times in his small book (1.2, 3, 9, 2:8, 17 [twice]).

Habakkuk has a hard time with the Lord's first answer, that he will punish Judah at the hands of the Babylonians. That leads to a second round of questions. How can a just God send such impious pagans against his own people?

Though the Lord answers that he will also punish the punishers for their own wrong-doing, the essence of Habakkuk's lesson lies in 2:4: "Behold, his soul [like the Babylonians] is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by faith."

God's person must do right, in spite of all the questionings, doubts, gaps of understanding, and horror at the wrong in the world. The righteous one will hold on to the justice of God, who, at the right time and in the right way, will settle accounts. The evil ones will be cut off, but those who keep their faith in God's plan will find life that survives the violence of this world.

Regardless of what happens, then, "I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation" (Hab. 3:19a).

Habakkuk's conversation with the Lord becomes my own. God has answered, and all will be right with the world when he gets through with it. I believe him, and I'll hang in there until we come out to the other side.

by J. Randal Matheny

We set deadlines and expect payments and promises to be made and kept, post-haste.

God had promised Abram a son, and the clock was ticking still.

So man proposes, "My servant Eliezer will be my heir."

And God disposes, "Your very own son shall be your heir" (Gen. 15:4, ESV).

Man was watching the sun rise and set. Rise and set. Rise and set. He was watching the wrong light in the sky.

Man was looking at his own physical incapacity. Long unable to produce a child. It must have become something of a joke between Abram and Sarai. A long-standing joke.

The Lord redirects his sights.

"Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them. ... So shall your offspring be" (verse 5).

Look toward heaven. He who created so many stars and hangs them from horizon to horizon can multiply Abram's descendents beyond count.

If Abram has a hard time believing in one son, God stretches his limits and promises him children without number.

"And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness" (verse 6).

Are you having trouble believing in some promise of the Lord Jesus Christ?

• when he says to seek first his kingdom and "all these things" will be added to your life?

• when he promises to confess you before his Father in heaven if you'll confess him before men?

• when he affirms his word will not return to him void if you proclaim the Good News?

• when he says God makes all things work for good to those who love him?

Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you can.

The exercise will stretch your limits and give you faith.