The Universal Conspiracy

I heard it said recently that the entire universe is conspiring in our favor. I'm not sure that's true--in fact, I'm quite sure that it isn't true, at least, not exactly.

There is a significant portion of the universe that would like to see each of us fail. God is, of course, bigger than all of that, and He wants to see us happy and successful. His definition of successful may not be yours or mine, though. Most of us run through life chasing happiness, not realizing that it can never be caught. What makes one happy usually has little or nothing to do with what one expects to make oneself happy. It usually has to do with tending to the needs of others; unfortunately, usually the other person doesn't have a clue what they need. The Bible talks a lot about things being temporal, or temporary. As long as we are in this life, some things seem to be important to us: we have to work a job so that we can pay the rent, buy the groceries, make the car payment; while we're on the job, the boss always seems to be asking too much, co-workers give us a hard time... but, this life is sixty or seventy years, maybe eighty or ninety--a few people live past a hundred; the next life is eternal. A hundred and fifty years, compared to eternity, is like a drop in the ocean (really, one drop is a bigger percentage of the ocean than 150 years compared to eternity). This whole life is temporary. But, if I haven't eaten in awhile, and you come along and try to give me something I need, but that I can't eat, I'm liable to throw it right back in your face. It isn't going to seem like something I need, because my mind is on my belly. Sometimes we have to deal with people's temporal needs before we can fulfill their eternal needs. Even then, if doesn't match up with what they think they want, they may not respond. The good news is, just because someone is by the way side today, they may be good ground tomorrow; God can transform them.