Making predictions is hard, especially about the future.
Yogi Berra
The only prediction about the future that I feel confident in is this: the future will be different from both the past and the present. Maybe better, maybe worse, but surely different.
My students know that my favorite physical principle is the First Law of Thermodynamics: Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only changed in form. I use this principle in a large fraction of my work, and it substantially impacts how I view the world. Also important, though, is the Second Law of Thermodynamics: Entropy of an isolated system always increases. Entropy is, essentially, the amount of disorder in a system.
What that means is, everything is always changing, and always in a direction towards decay, absent the input of external work. Consider a house. While a house is occupied, it is climate controlled in some way, damage is repaired, and so forth. Once it is abandoned, though, the house will gradually decay. Uncontrolled climate changes will cause materials to warp. Water will get in and damage anything made of wood, and will support the growth of mold. Wind and storms will cause a little damage that, unrepaired, becomes bigger with the next storm.
So each person’s world is always changing, like it or not. Some people seem blissfully unaware. Others focus all of their energy on preventing something bad from happening, or on holding onto the good things in their lives.
Consider parents of young children. Kids have a habit of growing up, like it or not. Some parents go to great lengths to prevent anything bad from ever happening to their kids. “Helicopter parents” fight all of their kids’ battles at school. Parents don’t let their kids explore the world on their own, fearful that they’ll get hurt.
Another approach some parents take is essentially to keep their kids in an immature state. They don’t want their kids to leave, so they foster a sense of dependence. They encourage their kids to pursue jobs or schooling in their hometown, whether or not that’s appropriate for the kids’ desired careers.
Our approach has been to encourage our kids to get tough and become independent. Maybe it worked a little too well. Sam is studying at Brown University, roughly 1200 miles away. Jesse is looking at options that are a little closer, but still hundreds of miles away. They are both choosing paths that they believe will make their lives better.
Which brings me to the point I’m trying to make. We all know that the future will be different from the present, and the past. We can ignore this fact. We can build up defenses to prevent bad things from happening. We can cling ever-more-tightly to the good things in our lives. Or, we can pursue what’s good.
I choose to believe that the future can be better than the present.
I choose to believe that the future can be better than the present. God’s promised Kingdom will be infinitely better than the broken world we inhabit today. We can experience a little glimpse of God’s Kingdom today, if we pursue it.
I experience God’s Kingdom each Thursday night at Fired Up! worship. I experience God’s Kingdom when I work at The Mission each Friday. I experience God’s Kingdom when I’m with my family and with my close friends. I experience God’s Kingdom when I’m elk hunting and I’ve reached the very end of my capabilities.
I also believe that we are all called to build a better world by applying the talents, skills, and knowledge we have to important problems. I have a pretty good life as a professor and could simply live with the status quo. However, I was given the opportunity to be the interim director of the Center for Research in Energy and Environment. I think I can help build up CREE and, by extension, Missouri S&T. So I said yes.
Each of us has choices to make every day. We can accept the decay of the world around us. We can fight rearguard actions to prevent change, a goal that is ultimately futile. The power of entropy will one day destroy all that we have, as time marches on. Or, we can embrace the possibilities before us and pursue the best new world available.
What doors is God opening for you? What do you need to let go so that you can move into a better future?