When experiencing hardship in the midst of a seemingly directionless life, the typical Christian turns to verses such as Jeremiah 29:11 to allay their fears:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
“Ah yes.” the weary traveler lets out a sigh of relief. “God will use me for something. I’ll escape this ordinary life… I have a future.”
Little does he know that his self has become the arbiter of what constitutes human flourishing, nullifying any objective or eternal sense of the matter.
Miroslav Volf and Matthew Croasmum give a compelling analysis on how the quest for human flourishing has been hijacked by a matter of human “taste.” What the individual views as an asset — whether achieving a fulfilling job or a happier marriage — becomes the definition of a flourishing life. Volf and Croasmum quote Rosa’s example of a painter who absurdly forgets her purpose is not to find the best brushes or tools but to paint in such a way to produce quality work. Humans miss the point of embodied existence (or life in a fleshly body) in their quest to improve their life circumstances.
Volf and Croasmum assert that a flourishing life is itself a fundamental need that can be experienced, perhaps more fully, in the direst situations devoid of any worldly necessities. The mortal concerned with earthly matters clashes with the eternal-minded on this assertion, as demonstrated by Heda Kovaly’s reflection on the Nazi occupation of Prague. In seeing her 16-year-old cousin, Jindrisek, a bag of skin and bones, waste away in a Lodz ghetto, she cannot stand to watch her mother pray as if God were a reasonable Being. How could a loving God let a victim of unspeakable suffering meet their demise at such a young age? She writes:
“There is nothing more senseless, more cruel, than dying before we have become guilty of sins that justify our death.”
Surely God did not have Jindrisek’s human flourishing in mind, according to Kovaly. Likewise, the Christian who interprets Jeremiah 29:11 to mean God will spare His image-bearers from harm and give them a comfortable life, is left speechless. Surely God could have given Jindresek a wholesome future, a pretty wife, and a family in the countryside. But He didn’t. And this, Kovaly finds, is unfair.
Yet, Kovaly, like the rest of humanity, is a fallen human caught up in temporal, worldly concerns contrary to the views of her Maker. She forgets Adam’s sin rendered all humans deserving of not merely an earthly, but eternal death, as all have fallen short of His glory (Eph. 2:1; Rom. 3:23). As horrific as inflicting mass death and suffering onto fellow image-bearers is, embodied existence is an extension of God’s grace. One cannot be upset over losing something they did not deserve in the first place.
Thus, embodied existence, due to the Fall, becomes a cruel gift to many. We have every right to enjoy all God has bestowed to us on Earth: the embrace of a loved one, the fruits of one’s labor, the color of a sunset. Yet, the gift, in its ephemerality, can be ripped away without warning, making it cruel for those who wish the gift would last forever, or at least a second longer.
The flourishing life does not derive from earthly security but from the Source itself. It’s why Paul can be content in plenty and in want (Phil. 4:12). It is why Solomon, lamenting in the purported meaninglessness of embodied existence, finds hope in the Teacher’s words. To “fear God and keep His commandments” is the telos of mankind (Ecc. 12:13).
Revisiting Jeremiah 29:11, God was specifically communicating to an exiled Israel that He would reunite them with their Promised Land. More importantly, the Return would coincide with turning their hearts toward Him (Jer. 29:13-14). The Return symbolized Israel was reconciled back to God, transcending the physical act of giving back their land. God did not designate a people for Himself for their own sake, but to show forth His glory and to bring about His only begotten Son on Earth. Christ is the end of all things, and we cannot truly flourish until our mind and spirit believe this, letting it permeate every aspect of our embodied existence. We must not lose sight of the infinitely better gift: eternity with Christ. This indestructible gift, while not deserved, will never be revoked from our grasp.
