L eading Ladies
Catalog Life As I opened the mailbox the other day, out tumbled yet another cache of catalogs. They arrive relentlessly week in and week out. While I’ve taken to pitching most of them right into recycling, there are a favorite few that provide me a bit of guilty pleasure. As I flip through the pages, beautiful and impeccably groomed women are smiling and relaxed as they effortlessly sport just the right outfit, with a few handsome men or cute kids thrown in to complete the picture. They’re perfectly dressed for a compelling setting—a festive party, a fabulous house, an enviable vacation, a country retreat. No one is bogged down with the slings and arrows of life gone awry. There are no unsolved problems. Catalog life presents in freeze-frame a perfect world made just for me—flawless, inviting, and seemingly attainable. In a culture where the delights dangled before us in catalogs, or in any medium—web, smartphones, television— promise repeatedly to meet our highest hopes, it’s hard to avoid being shaped by those expectations. After all, they’re right there in the picture. Connection, adventure, excitement? Book now! Ease, elegance, comfort? You’re worth it! Indeed, we are raised on “happily ever after,” and it’s even written into the Declaration of Independence that we have an inalienable right to pursue happiness. And so—even as Christians—we do it relentlessly, passing those same values onto our children as we help them in their quests for perfect smiles, great SAT scores, fairytale proms,
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and reputable colleges. The message is clear: Play by the rules, work hard, get a good education, choose the right career, and heaven on earth is possible. Except when it eludes us. When the job disappears. When the marriage collapses. When the diagnosis devastates. When the child disappoints. When death intrudes. And there are countless less monumental stresses that weigh on our lives every day and at times even define them. The crushing loneliness. The unwanted pounds. The chaotic household. The insufficient funds. How many times do we quietly declare to ourselves, “This isn’t what I signed up for!”? Ironically, as unrealistic as our expectations so often are, we long for perfection because we were created for it. And then humanity fell. Life after the fall was intended to be punishing, and it doesn’t disappoint. Despite our best efforts to push that truth aside, our desires are frustrated continually because our relationship with God is broken. That is why the gospel is such good news! Through Christ, that relationship is repaired and we become a new creation, instilled with his mind and
Susan Michaelson does not abandon us to them. Rather, he walks with us through them, even through the valley of the shadow of death itself. As we patiently abide, remaining faithful as we seek his face, Paul tells us that we are being prepared for an eternal weight of glory, while Peter reminds us that we are already heirs of an imperishable inheritance reserved for us in the heavenly realm. We will know suffering, but we suffer with hope grounded in the certain promises of God. Second, Christianity is not an individual, independent enterprise. As Christians, we are called to live in community with other believers; Christian fellowship involves commitment to one another. We not only share our resources, talents, and time but also are to be honest about our own particular needs as well. Our brothers and sisters in Christ are called to help us bear our burdens, as we are called to help them bear theirs. The give and take within a healthy Christian community reminds us that it’s not all about us, our wants and desires. Rather, it’s about others’ needs and about what God is doing in and through us for his glory. Finally, while enduring perfection will elude us in the here and now, by God’s grace we are periodically gifted with the in-breaking of a true glimpse of heaven, those moments of transcendence that take our breath away. A stunning vista, the glance of a beloved, the thrill of spine-tingling music, the cry of a newborn. So much more than the staged promises of catalog life, these uplifting experiences are divine encouragement from the heavenly Giver to whom we owe heartfelt thanks. In Colossians we are commanded: “Be thankful!” The cultivation of a grateful heart focuses our attention on all that we have—and away from whatever we think we lack. It’s time to put the catalogs into the bin.
We long for perfection because we were created for it. And then humanity fell. his Spirit. Nonetheless, we continue to live in a world groaning along with us in ongoing suffering until he returns. Only then will heaven and earth come together and our desires for perfection be legitimately fulfilled. So what do we do in the meantime? How do we, as Christians, live faithfully in a culture that continually dangles the promise of catalog life with no ability to truly or lastingly deliver it? How do we bear witness to the gospel when brokenness is so persistent in our own lives, in the lives of those around us, and in the world at large? While there are no easy answers or clutch verses, the Word of God does provide wise direction. First, it’s helpful to be realistic in our expectations. The truth is that we are not promised heaven on earth in this lifetime; if anything, we are promised trials. But God
Susan Michaelson teaches New Testament at St. Joe’s University in Philadelphia, Pa.