Are We Amused, Yet?

SOMETHING  TO THINK ABOUT "I find that amusing." "I'm not amused." "Let's go to an amusement park." Words don't always mean what the accumulations of their parts add up to, but looking at the two ends of this word is interesting, and might prove amusing. The "a" on the front of the word is a negation--whatever the rest of the word means, when you put the "a" in front of it you turn it around 180 degrees.   To muse is to think or meditate.  Thus tobe amused is to be put into a non-thinking state.  As I look back over the years, some of the most amusing things I have done, certainly fit that description.  I am so taken with the beauty or thrill of the moment that other thoughts are pushed aside.   One can become addicted to that. I'm not opposed to amusement.  In proper doses, and entered into responsibly, it is a good thing.  I'm honestly open to the input of others, here.  Does God offer us amusement?  Off the top of my head, I don't recall that He does.  He does give peace.   When David spoke of the hesed (Hebrew)--lovingkindness, mercy, love, faithful love--that would follow him all the days of his life, he wasn't speaking of a ride on a Ferris-wheel. Jesus did not promise to leave a really cool video-game for His followers.  He promised peace.   When the Holy Spirit is at home in a life, He doesn't promise a daily adrenaline-rush.  The fruit He bearsis love, joy, and peace.  Cornelius Plantinga, weaves together a great deal of Biblical truth when he says, "The webbing together of God, humans, and all of creation in justice, fullfillment, and delight is what the Hebrew prophets call shalom. . . . Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be."  (Not the Way It's Supposed to Be, 10)   It appears to me that God's plan is not to divert our attention from a miserable life that's all out of whack from what it should be.  Rather He is in the business of making fundamental changes in us, that will make us what we ought to be.  Eventually He will do the same for all of creation.  (Romans 8) Rather than amusement,  He offers us something worth musing about. Which sounds an awfully lot like, STTA. Here is a simple presentation of the truth that all of us need to prepare for eternity.