Life is jam-packed with problems. Money, marriage, children, work, health, church and so much more. In Greek mythology, we find lessons from a man named Sisyphus. He was the king of Corinth, and known to be a rascal. He was conniving and arrogant (a good description, “hubris”). The gods hate hubris in people.
Somewhere along the line, he really ticked someone off and he was condemned for all eternity to roll a huge boulder up a large hill. He would toil and sweat, to reach the top, only to have that boulder roll down the hill. He would have to start all over again– endlessly repeating this work. Up and down– forever and ever. (Apparently– he’s at it today.)
I suggest that there are quite a few things that are inherently unfixable. It certainly seems like we are going to resolve them. It may even seem like we’re making some headway. When we get close, our boulder rolls down the hill. And we stand there looking dumbfounded, wondering what we can do differently next time. Often when we are aware of the tedium and the monotony– the repetitive effort; it seems about time that we do something different.
But there are also hard, and ghastly things, issues that we will never change. We try, and then we try harder. But it is apparent we can never make things so they click. These are simply unfixable from our point of view. We’re completely– “over our head.” And, guess what? We really are.
But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things. 42 Only one thing is important. Mary has chosen the better thing, and it will never be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:41-42, NCV
Making things work should never be your top priority. We face problems that in ourselves we will never correct. I must tell you this, we can’t turn these issues into our primary focus.
- The Lord Jesus is to be all that we seek. He is our first priority. We are to concentrate on His dear presence– above all else.
- Perhaps, instead of seeking solutions for our lives, we should be seeking His face?
- Apart from His power we will forever labor and toil.
“Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.”
Philippians 4:13, MSG
We are to talk to Him about these things that perplex us. I would suggest that these convoluted problems are the Fathers’ way of driving us to Him. Eternity is now our real home, and we must come to the place in God where we seek Him now, just like we will in heaven. We can quit rolling our boulder up the hill. We will cease and desist. Instead we will trust and seek His face.
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. ”
Ps. 32:8, ESV
“But we are citizens of heaven and are eagerly waiting for our Savior to come from there. Our Lord Jesus Christ 21 has power over everything, and he will make these poor bodies of ours like his own glorious body. ”
Phil. 3:20-21, CEV
Related articles
- Would you keep pushing? (theathleticintersection.wordpress.com)
- Mythology: A new way of seeing it, Logically. Part 1:Character Sisyphus (postsandpoems.wordpress.com)
- A life of service begins at Jesus’ feet (witnesswell.net)
Broken Believers 
It is so true that when we focus on Jesus and our greatest desire is to know Him better that the great boulders of life become less important. Perhaps He will roll them to the top of the hill for us, or perhaps He will leave them be. It matters not of we have Him. Peace, Linda
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Thank you for this post, Bryan, it really spoke to me this weekend, and an ongoing season I’ve been pushing through.
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