Life requires much from us. And there’s much we want to do and engage. But wisdom reminds us of our own limitations. God alone is infinite and we ourselves remain finite.
Despite the cultural expectations otherwise, we cannot do everything. And this is not for a lack of trying or caring.
To be sure, there are many times in which we allow laziness and selfishness to hold us back from accomplishing all that is ours to do. But even on our best day there’s still only so much we can do and it’s good to accept our finitude.
Certainly, this plays out in the concrete tasks we want to complete. There are only so many hours in a day and only so much we can get done before our bodies demand sleep. While we can push ourselves and discover more of what we’re capable of, we will still eventually bump into the reality of our limitations.
And this is true in our ability to know and figure things out as well. While God has given us strong and curious minds, and we can find enlightenment in many areas, there are many mysteries still beyond our ability to comprehend. Even our collective wisdom in this life is but a dim glimpse at the fullness of God’s reality.
Likewise, while there are many cares and concerns at every turn, our hearts cannot hold the weight of every story and heartache we’re now exposed to. Much like our physical bodies, we can also exhaust our souls when we try to feel too much of the world around us. And this exhaustion often robs us of our ability to love well those we are responsible to.
In the end, we cannot do it all, know it all, or feel it all. And it’s our pride that assumes otherwise.
Remembering our finitude is not an excuse for laziness. Rather it allows us to discover our best yes – focusing on the areas we are called to by God.
Photo by Gianluca Zuccarelli on Unsplash
