Longing
"I think those who've never heard of Eden long for it...And yet in this world we find disappointment after disappointment. We bite into the chocolate bunny over and over again and find it's hollow each and every time." [pg. 65]
We do see people in this day and age hopping from one "experience" to another "experience" as fast as they can. First it may drugs, then it may be affairs, or it could be the corporate power play, the seeking after money to have all the right things...the list goes on. There is that vacuum in every person has which can only be filled by God. They are desperately searching for peace of mind, relief from guilt, meaning and purpose to their lives, and loving acceptance. You and I know that these things can only be found in God. So often, I believe we fall into a misperception. We think because these people are seeking these things they must be seeking after God.
However, I've discovered they aren't really seeking after God. They are seeking after the benefits that only God can provide. They want the benefits all the while they are running from God as fast as they can get away.
Okay, that's their excuse. What is our excuse as believing Christians? Because I really believe, with my whole heart that seeking is the result of faith, not the cause of it. Jules is a prime example. In fact, she just wrote a great post over at Maced With Grace about thirsting called "To Drink". Go over and read it.
When we "find" Christ our experience isn't over. Oh no! It is just beginning. We don't stay at that "beginner" stage. We begin to grow, our faith begins to develop and it deepens, like the layers on an onion. We grow from grace to grace, from life to life. This growth movement is a result of a continual seeking after God. As a new believer I don't know if we truly recognize what we have. Oh yes, we understand we have eternal life. That we are secure in Christ. But as each layer of the onion is added over the years we finally begin to realize, to catch a glimpse, that the most valuable possession a person can ever have is Christ. To have Him is to have everything. We lack nothing!
As that understanding develops then the longing begins to set in. For me, it is the longing to go home. Yes, I get frustrated that I sin. It aggravates me all the time...just like Paul when he spoke about doing the things he hated and not doing the things he should. But I know that sin will be done away with. There will come a point when I will no longer have that powerful struggle. And THAT is where my longing focus' on...my going home.
We do see people in this day and age hopping from one "experience" to another "experience" as fast as they can. First it may drugs, then it may be affairs, or it could be the corporate power play, the seeking after money to have all the right things...the list goes on. There is that vacuum in every person has which can only be filled by God. They are desperately searching for peace of mind, relief from guilt, meaning and purpose to their lives, and loving acceptance. You and I know that these things can only be found in God. So often, I believe we fall into a misperception. We think because these people are seeking these things they must be seeking after God.
However, I've discovered they aren't really seeking after God. They are seeking after the benefits that only God can provide. They want the benefits all the while they are running from God as fast as they can get away.
Okay, that's their excuse. What is our excuse as believing Christians? Because I really believe, with my whole heart that seeking is the result of faith, not the cause of it. Jules is a prime example. In fact, she just wrote a great post over at Maced With Grace about thirsting called "To Drink". Go over and read it.
When we "find" Christ our experience isn't over. Oh no! It is just beginning. We don't stay at that "beginner" stage. We begin to grow, our faith begins to develop and it deepens, like the layers on an onion. We grow from grace to grace, from life to life. This growth movement is a result of a continual seeking after God. As a new believer I don't know if we truly recognize what we have. Oh yes, we understand we have eternal life. That we are secure in Christ. But as each layer of the onion is added over the years we finally begin to realize, to catch a glimpse, that the most valuable possession a person can ever have is Christ. To have Him is to have everything. We lack nothing!
As that understanding develops then the longing begins to set in. For me, it is the longing to go home. Yes, I get frustrated that I sin. It aggravates me all the time...just like Paul when he spoke about doing the things he hated and not doing the things he should. But I know that sin will be done away with. There will come a point when I will no longer have that powerful struggle. And THAT is where my longing focus' on...my going home.
posted by Pilot Mom at
9:07 AM
4 Comments:
"However, I've discovered they aren't really seeking after God. They are seeking after the benefits that only God can provide."
Claire, you just opened my eyes to a whole new way of looking at this. In the past year of trying to work with people like my friend, Becca, and my mentee, Patti, I have been perplexed beyond belief why they keep saying they want to be full and happy but they keep running from God. Seriously...I just never realized this is what is going on!
What a mind blowing way to start the morning!
By
HeyJules, at 7:50 AM
I was going to copy the exact same quote that Jules did... I too have never looked at it quite that way and it's like an epiphany because indeed, that is the reality of folks that want the blessings without the One who bestows them.
By
Andrea, at 9:55 AM
I just got this in an email from a friend and thought you'd get a kick out of it:
"By following simple advice heard on the Dr. Phil show, you too can find inner peace. Dr. Phil proclaimed, "The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you've started and never finished."
So, I looked around my house to see all the things I started and hadn't finished, and before leaving the house this morning, I finished off 23 Bud Lights, a bottle of Absolute, a package of Oreos, the remainder of my old Prozac prescription, the rest of the cheesecake, some Doritos and a box of chocolates.
You have no idea how really good I feel.
Please pass this on to those you feel might be in need of inner peace."
I thought that was rather ironic considering today's topic at hand!
By
HeyJules, at 11:27 AM
Thanks for the laugh, Jules, you have started my day on the upside!!
I'm so glad that God used that for both of you. It certainly opened my eyes in a whole new direction. And it explains so much about our human condition, does it not?
By
Pilot Mom, at 12:08 PM
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