<The Longing of the Human Soul>1

Kracan wandered into the church. He was followed by his apprentice, Alex, who brought him coffee.

The church was filled with Children's Day festivities.

Kraken: Look over there.

There's a man working hard at the service.

Alex: Yes.

Kracan: Why do you think humans serve?

Alex: Why do humans serve...

-Alex frowns and tries to think. He can't think of anything, so he gives up.

Alex: I'm not sure.

Kraken: Humans serve because humans are meant to serve.

Alex: (giving such a ridiculous answer?) What?

Krakan: Humans were created as gods, they were created to love each other, and even they have one special principle, and that is rest. Isn't that strange?

Usually when you think of God as an absolute being, that absolute being doesn't need to rest at all.

-A man in an amusement park costume walks by giving them both ice cream cones.

Alex: Okay, so if there is an absolute being, then humans don't need to rest either, but why does he command us to rest?

Krakan: Because God rested after he created man.

Alex: Rested? Why?

Kraken: Because as a small creature, we can't exactly 'understand' God, but he made it a principle, and made rest a truth.

Alex: So rest is something that humans need?

Krakan: Rest, service, and helping others can be approached as a principle of necessity, but God commands it. To be precise, he commands all creatures (humans), and by extension, those who acknowledge that there is a God and who choose to accept him as their Lord and rule over his people, to keep his commands.

[Joshua 1:8]

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest do according to all that is written therein.

that you may observe to do them day and night, that your path may be straight, and that you may prosper.

This passage of Scripture was given to the people during the Exodus in Old Testament times (before Jesus). It was a command from God to live by the law that he gave to man, and one of the commands was to rest.

...

- Alex paused for a moment. Why would God command humans to rest?

After thinking about it for a while, it started to make sense in terms of the opposite sex. If you are in a relationship with someone of the opposite sex and they ask you to do something, and you love them, you might ask them to do this or that. You can also look at it from the perspective of whether you're losing money or not. For example, if my girlfriend is a very wealthy woman and I appease her, she will support my business. But it's not love, it's filling the other person's heart with service in order to receive something.

In that sense, the commands to humans by an omnipotent, non-needing God are not about work and need, but about confession and relationship.

Alex: So, Mr. Kraken. Aren't there people, even believers and followers of God, who work seven days a week and don't observe the Sabbath, and if so, are those who don't rest under some sort of curse, losing stamina or something?

-The ice cream he's holding is melting, dripping drop by drop.

Kraken: Hmm. You're not losing anything. The world works best when it follows the Creator's principles. But does that mean that the Creator's order is the perfect choice and there is no loss? I don't think so.

The heart of the law and the commandments is not efficiency, but confession. What if the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil was not sweet? What if the sin of the Bible was not sweet, and the choice was always damaging? Then no one would choose it, and everyone would follow God's will. Would that be called choosing to follow God, and worshiping God with all our hearts? The answer is no. So it's hard to think of the laws of life in terms of contrasting which one is God and which one is not and which one will lose. This is because it is not the point of the law to provide clear absolutes like science.

What is clear, however, is that God empowers humans to do what they choose. If someone chooses to ruin their own life, you don't stop them from doing it by saying "no" and pouring blessings on them. You can't call that freedom and love. It's ironic why you allow cruelty in the world...

Alex: Love. Love and respect for human existence.

Kraken: Exactly. But there are exceptions. Like with a child, when a child is born, it's not going to be able to recognize what's a good choice. So the parent is totally helping the child and making the right choice for them. It's like a child growing up, they need to have their needs met while they're growing up, but when it comes time for them to grow up and make their own decisions, there are eventually repercussions and consequences for their choices.

The consequences of a person's choices can be understood by looking at people who make adjustments to take care of their body and appearance, such as models. Why do you think people use real people when a computer can create a more perfect person without the need for such models? What is the point of a model working hard to lose weight and achieve the perfect shape? If all you see is what you get, can't you just computerize it?

Alex: Are you talking about models, models...? Actually, now that we have the technology, we can make it AI, but isn't it more meaningful and valuable because it has a real dynamic reaction... or a real tangible thing that you can touch? Now that I'm listening and thinking about it, I'm realizing that it's not just about perfection and substance.

Krakan: Right, so let's think about this. You know Duchamp's Toilet? He became famous because he signed his name on the toilet and exhibited it, so he was pushing the boundaries of art, but people criticized it. The reason why Duchamp's toilet was recognized by art history at the time was because Duchamp was already an established artist. So, is it a freebie without any effort? Do you think so?

- The two got up and started walking through the park. They saw many students' works. They looked like nameless, uninteresting scrap metal. Alex thought to himself. Is art really defined by what it looks like? What is the substance of art?

Alex: It's not like the name value... didn't add meaning. But isn't there a particular reason why only his toilet seat is remembered?

Krakan: Yeah. I'm not going to make this a long story. What the model and Duchamp have in common is simple. The amount of invisible labor and process invested. In the case of the models, they would have had to work out and maintain a strict diet to maintain their skin and body type. They've decided what they want to achieve, and it's not just a one-time fast, it's the fruit of their labor.

And it's the same with art, you don't become an artist just by taking a picture and capturing it. There are a lot of choices and processes that go into making something truly artistic.

One of the principles of the biblical speaking world is that.

[Proverbs 12:24] The hand of the diligent is made to rule over men, but the sluggard is brought low.

Your life changes because of the choices you make.

It's a tragedy if you don't choose to be art, but you become art, because other people see you and call you art, but it's far from what you truly intend and love, and you end up being far from your true self. You become defined by other people, you wear clothes that don't fit you, you're dragged around to fulfill people's expectations, and that's why some of the most beloved and famous people commit suicide and die of extreme thirst,

Alex: Yeah. So what were you trying to say?

Krakhan: That it is by human choice that what we create comes to pass, that in the midst of human life, God sees the human action as a confession and grants grace in response to that human action, a request, because God 'promises' it to the human. It is not an absolute world principle. But that doesn't mean I can take the impact and value of the choices I make today lightly.

-And before I knew it, I was back on track, circling the lake. And I saw the people serving again. By now, people had gone home, and the booths where the festival had been held were closing one by one.

The man's face was much darker than before.

Alex: That guy. His face looks a lot darker.

-He goes about his business, picking up trash and looking around. It's like he's expecting to be seen by someone he knows.

Alex: Hasn't he been working hard? He should be happy, so why doesn't he look happy? Didn't you say earlier that your actions have effects and consequences? Why didn't God give him happiness?

Krakan: Haha. You talk as if you know everything about that man. I don't know anything about him, but I think it's a good example. I think it's a good example, because it's possible to live by the commands of the Word and still have an empty heart. We'll talk about it next time we meet.

What do you think? As we've talked about, it's clear that God wants to bless you and give you the best choices for a happy life. But if you follow God so diligently and yet somewhere in your heart is always empty, where does that heart-centered unhappiness come from?

Alex: ...

-Alex ponders again. The sun has set and night has fallen. He hears church music coming from the church. Alex says he'll think about it for a while and goes into the church where the service is being held. He looks at the different places of worship. For some reason, the people in the church seem strange. When they pray, they seem to be sitting there without much thought rather than feeling the peace of being freed from sin, and when they pray, they seem to be praying desperately, though I don't know what they are praying for. When it was time for the sermon, I saw some people dozing off and others watching webtoons on their cell phones.

The service came to an end. I saw the man I recognized from earlier, the one who served, going home again with a depressed look on his face. If there is a God, he must have met them, but why are there some people who are not the happiest and some who are depressed?

Is there happiness at the end of it all when you meet God, or are you just living with a thirsty heart and replenishing fluids that will only quench your thirst?

The sun was setting and darkness was coming, and Alex ended up coming back with a lot of questions.