Stability in the Flux

Our family likes to play games. One card game we played when the kids were younger was a card game called “Fluxx.” It bills itself as “the card game with ever-changing rules.” Hence, the name” Fluxx.” During play the number of cards drawn changes. The number of cards you can have in your hand changes. The goal to win the game changes. It’s entertaining and frustrating at the same time.

Life sometimes resembles the games we play and right now I feel like we are living “Fluxx.” It’s like we were all playing by the same, unchanging rules for centuries and BAM – the rules changed. And then, when we figure out the new rules, they change again. For me, it’s not so much entertaining as it is frustrating.

I suppose change is inevitable and I guess change is not bad. I don’t want to be that guy who is so set in his ways and beliefs that I never question the rules and even acknowledge that some rules need to change. I want to be flexible, but I notice an ongoing craving for stability in my life and my beliefs. Afterall, what good is a belief if it is open to change? Are there some things, anything, that I can rely on day after day, year after year? Doesn’t life come with some immutable rules or is everything up for grabs?

As I read the New Testament, I see a Jesus who comes into a world steeped in religious “rules” and who boldly challenges much of what his contemporaries believe about God. Jesus is most harsh with those who never question what they have always believed. So, he calls for change, but in doing so he also calls them back to what is unchanging. And isn’t that the challenge – what is open to change and what is immutable? To live life in a total state of flux is denying that any truth exists. And many have chosen that path. But the Bible does give us that option.

The Bible makes claims like when Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” There is no denying the implicit claim that there is truth. Not everything changes. There are some realities about life that are not open to public polls or opinions. There are some truths that are not subject to cultural norms or societal trends. One truth that you can be certain of is that the Bible, and Jesus, are either right on this or they are supremely arrogant, misguided, and egotistical.

A decision all people must make is whether we are living in the game of “Fluxx”, where the rules are all subject to change, or whether we live in a world where there are some absolute rules that give us all reliable guidelines to live by. If the former is true, then we must live in the reality that there is really nothing to put our faith in. If the latter is true, the next move is to make our life’s work the discovery of where this truth can be found.

These are important things to ponder, because this life of ours may be more than a game. If you’re on the search, I point you to Jesus. He makes the claim to be truth. He offers stability in the flux of life. Or, you can keep playing “Fluxx.”