"You say we have to know what the job of being human is. Lucky for you, your father is still just barely alive enough to tell you. The job of being human is to journey toward the image of God within us, to become that person we were created to be but are not yet."
Maybe "to become that person we were created to be but are not yet" looks like this?
"I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it." (Revelation 2:17 - from the Spirit to the overcomer, the victorious)
Reading these conversations is helping me so much on my own journey towards God. I feel as though I've spent so much of my life lost and drifting in a vast, empty ocean, tossed around by rogue waves and only now have I found something solid to grab on to. I look forward to each and every letter, every insight showing me something I've been searching for a long time.
The job of being human is to journey toward the image of God within us, to become that person we were created to be but are not yet. In doing this, we become workers in the vineyard of that creation — a branch of the vine of life bearing its fruit, which is a new and unique experience of existence — your existence; mine. ~Andrew Klavan
I also do not think a great poem can be concocted on chatGPT because if the words were there without the human suffering and ecstasy behind them, suffused through them, then those words would not be a great poem, they would just be the microchip connections pretending to be that experience. A great poem written by a flesh and blood poet is a great thing for sure. But the poem, even in its execution, is not greater than the potential of the human being to create that thing out of himself or herself. We worship the excellence of the finished product. But what continues to inspire us is the human urge is to take flight with the mind and the spirit.
Dear Mr. Klavan, thank you for articulating so succinctly the job of being human. I will write that down so I can not only remember your words but try to live by them. Again, thank you.
The ebb and flow of laughter and awe when reading, in such a short letter, always feels so good! It is like a workout for the mind. It's how I feel when I am doing intervals on the track. There is a warm up, an easy interval then the speed - the feeling of being stretched by the one comment that blows your mind!
“The job of being human is to journey toward the image of God within us, to become that person we were created to be but are not yet. In doing this, we become workers in the vineyard of that creation — a branch of the vine of life bearing its fruit, which is a new and unique experience of existence — your existence; mine.
Can machines (and mind-altering pharmaceuticals) help us do that job, or are we born with all the equipment we need?”
Upon re-reading these letters, it’s delightful that new things stand out, such as, “When you say humans are “the point of it all,” that is the point that humans are: the whole experience.” The point of these eloquently written insights is being realized, that point being to help us “journey” toward that image of God in which he creates us.
And then, of course, the image of the cartoon Jetson dog, Astro, comes to mind. “Rut-roh, Reorge, here comes a robot dog.”
"You say we have to know what the job of being human is. Lucky for you, your father is still just barely alive enough to tell you. The job of being human is to journey toward the image of God within us, to become that person we were created to be but are not yet."
BINGO we have a winner.
I am enjoying these letters so much! I expected something good from Klavan-squared, but The New Jerusalem is far exceeding my expectations.
Maybe "to become that person we were created to be but are not yet" looks like this?
"I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it." (Revelation 2:17 - from the Spirit to the overcomer, the victorious)
Reading these conversations is helping me so much on my own journey towards God. I feel as though I've spent so much of my life lost and drifting in a vast, empty ocean, tossed around by rogue waves and only now have I found something solid to grab on to. I look forward to each and every letter, every insight showing me something I've been searching for a long time.
The job of being human is to journey toward the image of God within us, to become that person we were created to be but are not yet. In doing this, we become workers in the vineyard of that creation — a branch of the vine of life bearing its fruit, which is a new and unique experience of existence — your existence; mine. ~Andrew Klavan
Comment: Beautifully said!
I also do not think a great poem can be concocted on chatGPT because if the words were there without the human suffering and ecstasy behind them, suffused through them, then those words would not be a great poem, they would just be the microchip connections pretending to be that experience. A great poem written by a flesh and blood poet is a great thing for sure. But the poem, even in its execution, is not greater than the potential of the human being to create that thing out of himself or herself. We worship the excellence of the finished product. But what continues to inspire us is the human urge is to take flight with the mind and the spirit.
Well put, as usual, Mr. Judge.
Dear Mr. Klavan, thank you for articulating so succinctly the job of being human. I will write that down so I can not only remember your words but try to live by them. Again, thank you.
It's almost as if you are a novelist who has mastered the English language! Well said Mr. Klavan!
The ebb and flow of laughter and awe when reading, in such a short letter, always feels so good! It is like a workout for the mind. It's how I feel when I am doing intervals on the track. There is a warm up, an easy interval then the speed - the feeling of being stretched by the one comment that blows your mind!
Oh Klavan, my Klavan.
The point of it all indeed:
“The job of being human is to journey toward the image of God within us, to become that person we were created to be but are not yet. In doing this, we become workers in the vineyard of that creation — a branch of the vine of life bearing its fruit, which is a new and unique experience of existence — your existence; mine.
Can machines (and mind-altering pharmaceuticals) help us do that job, or are we born with all the equipment we need?”
These letters—this communication—beautiful. Thank you both for sharing your love and wisdom and these devotionals.
Upon re-reading these letters, it’s delightful that new things stand out, such as, “When you say humans are “the point of it all,” that is the point that humans are: the whole experience.” The point of these eloquently written insights is being realized, that point being to help us “journey” toward that image of God in which he creates us.
And then, of course, the image of the cartoon Jetson dog, Astro, comes to mind. “Rut-roh, Reorge, here comes a robot dog.”