Are You Living a Tarzan Life? One Vine to the Next

Those of you who are old enough to remember the original Tarzan recall how he would grab a vine and swing down through the trees and when he got to the top of the arc he’d grab the next vine, swing down and grab the next, and so on.   He was traveling vine to vine.  One vine wasn’t enough to get him where he wanted to go.  It didn’t fully satisfy his need or fulfill his desire.  One day to the next, one destination to the next, one “save Jane from the villain” to the next, Tarzan would go vine to vine. Each vine might have been a little different, one a little longer, one a little thinner but ultimately they were just vines and when Tarzan looked back in time all the vines were but a blur. 

It’s kind of like that in so many areas of life.  We spend time planning a meal and even more time in its preparation. We sit down to eat and twenty minutes later it’s gone and soon we prepare for the next.  We live meal to meal.  We bathe in the morning and the next day we’re in need of a bath.  We pick up our paycheck on Friday (if we’re blessed to have a job these days) and one or two weeks later we pick up the next.  We live paycheck to paycheck.  It seems we’re swinging vine to vine and it has a way of making life seem like a treadmill or like one of those exercise wheels in your hamster’s cage; he runs but really gets nowhere.

Every once in a while I lay in bed at night and get this weird feeling that time is flying by and I’ve been running on the hamster’s wheel.  Get up, shower, shave, get dressed, grab a cup of coffee, drive to work, do the job, get in the truck, drive home, hug my wife, super-secret-handshake the boys, mow the lawn, eat dinner, help with the dishes, get the kids ready for bed, say prayers, brush my teeth, crawl in bed, read for twelve minutes, and fall asleep.  Get up and start over.  All of a sudden three months have gone by. All of a sudden three years have gone by.  All of a sudden life has gone by.

I think that’s how King Solomon felt when he wrote Ecclesiastes.  After all his toil and after all his indulging he looked back and felt a sense of meaninglessness.  But I also think there are many people who are so busy swinging on their vines or are so busy running on their hamster wheels they never even notice that they aren’t really going anywhere.  Sure, maybe they have built a bigger house or bought a shiny new car but in a little while those things will look like old vines that they’ve swung on before.

God is showing me that, although I need to eat, sleep, and earn a living, without him and the promise of eternity there is an emptiness to life.  Without the promise of eternal life we are just slowly moving through time to an ultimate nothingness.  No wonder people who have been taught by secular educators that we are the random product of time and chance, coming from nowhere and going to nowhere, choose to end their lives when they are in a moment of despair.  I think it may be the same for those who believe in reincarnation and the “circle of life”.  If this life isn’t working out, check out and try the next one. 

The Bible tells us that we are created in the image of God and that this life is in preparation for the next.  What we believe here and what we do with that belief matters, not just now, but forever.  Jesus told his followers to “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness then all the rest will be added unto you.”  He promised to be the bread of life so that we would never be hungry.  He promised to be living water so we would never be thirsty.  He promised to be the vine so that we would always be connected to our source of life.  He promised to be our Sheppard so that we would always have safe pasture.  He promised to be resurrection and the life so that there would never be an end to life.  When Jesus rose from the dead he validated his promises and gave us meaning and hope.

As you go from vine to vine in life take a moment to pause and ask yourself "Why am I swinging and to where am I going?"  God’s plan is not that we swing for self-satisfaction or worldly gain but that we do so for him and by his power.  Jesus told his disciples to “Follow me.” Stop swinging for a second and ask God for direction.  I’ll do the same.

Peace, David