Supremely Satisfying

"If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desire not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink, and sex, and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, we are like ignorant children who want to continue making mud pies in a slum because we cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of vacation at the sea. We are far too easily pleased"

Before reading any further I shall give you fair warning.

I wrote this long and wordy blog, and then I remembered a quote that reminded me of what I wrote. The quote above is from C.S Lewis’ The Weight of Glory, and it's absolutely beautiful. It also captures in2 sentences far more than my whole blog, so you really don't need to keep reading. Though I do encourage you to go buy The Weight of Glory and read that instead of my blog because His though project would be logical, His sentences actually coherent, He probably didn’t write it at 1 AM , and he’s British…which is always good.

But for those of you who are still reading, here's what I got...

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We are like a little toddler wobbling through a dirty sandbox in the park, obsessed with finding dull pennies that hardly shine.

We stare intently at the ground, hoping to find this “treasure”. We are convinced that these grubby coins are all we need to be happy. Meanwhile, our loving Dad stands over us, trying to get our attention so he can pick us up to give us four shiny quarters so He can take us to the store where we can pick out our favorite ice cream bar. Unfortunately, we never look up to see our Dad. We just keep looking for dirty, worthless coins.

I am convinced that we settle for much less then God wants us to have.

I think our problem is that we often live with a “near-sighted” perspective in life.We focus on things that are immediately in front of us, and will bring us immediate satisfaction. We are like that little toddler scouring the dirty sand for rusty pennies, only our “rusty pennies” are nice cars, big houses and popularity. We grow so focused on the “treasures” of the world, that we lose sight of our Father in Heaven who is trying to help us realize that He wants far greater things for us then a nice paying job or a house with a yard. I’m not saying that money or things are bad at all, but simply that they are insignificant compared to the joy that stems from knowing God deeply. These things are fleeting pleasures, but relationship with Christ Jesus is supremely satisfying. You could lose your house, your car and all your money, but still find real and genuine joy and purpose in Christ.

This is a sweet thing God is teaching me.

We’re usually told not to focus on worldly treasures because there is a temptation to idolize them. While this is true, I’m realizing the real reason we don’t need to focus on worldly treasures is because they are just lame in comparison to God. The problem with “worldly treasures” is not just that they aren’t eternal or can become an idol,

it’s that they aren’t the best treasure to run after while on earth – Jesus is better. Much better.

We don’t need to focus so much on loving money less; we just need to love God more and know Him more. He is so incredibly satisfying and good that when we begin to seek Him honestly and know Him truly, the “treasures” of this world will begin to look like junk. So we don’t have to work on loving money less, we just have to work on loving God more, and naturally our perspective on money will change.

We must learn to actively seek God in this way because it is the only route to real growth. If you fail to focus on seeking God, and just attempt to “not love” one temptation, you’ll replace it with another fleeting pleasure. You’ll trade sin for sin. You’ll trade obsessing over your car for your clothes, and enter into a discouraging cycle of sin.

If you convince the little toddler to stop looking for the worthless pennies, he’ll just move to a new obsession and search for worms in the mud to eat or look for old bottle caps that he’ll choke on.

The child needs to look up.

He needs to see His Father, and realize that the gifts His Dad will give are far greater than anything the dirty sandbox offers. The earth is like a dirty sandbox, and though it’s treasures may look a lot nicer then rusty pennies, squishy worms or deathly bottle caps, in comparison to the love and satisfaction that God offers us these “treasures” are junk. They are nothing. Worthless. I am convinced that seeking Christ whole-heartedly is far more satisfying then we could ever imagine in this life. Even as I lay sick the other day in bed I found great joy when I focused on hanging out with Christ in my sickness.

I write this because it’s a lesson I’m learning from God, not because I understand fully how to seek God in this way. Thank God for grace, because I fail so often. But I do hope and pray God teaches us all how to seek Him more intensely so that we can enjoy Him more.

Remember…go read Lewis!

All for Jesus

:: Kyle ::