“If I find in myself desires which nothing in
this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for
another world.”
— C.S. Lewis (1898–1963)
This most famous of quotes by the legendary
20th-century author and apologist hits the nail on the head regarding the
mystery of life: we weren’t ever meant to feel satisfied.
In a world that promises so much,
but delivers so little, honing in on the extraneous desires, there is one vital
input that millions
upon millions run without. Although more than 90% of the world’s population
believe in God, at least that proportion of people don’t know Jesus Christ. My
attempt, here, is to argue the case for Christ in the context of an otherwise
deeply unsatisfying life without God.
A salient example of the deepest
dissatisfaction anyone could face is the despair rooted in the worst kind of
addiction—where the desires scream out to be satisfied, but never are. The
addict knows all too well there is nothing in the world that can satisfy him,
but he is just the same contorted beyond his own control to seek to satisfy.
Such a seeking can often prove the death of him. He cannot be healed of his
pain without God.
A less graphic example is the case
of the common man or woman who has an ordinary life. They aren’t plagued by any
addictions, but they certainly are plagued by some nuances of worry,
frustration, or longing. They wonder why life has to be so hard. Surely life is
easier for other people, they think.
But life is not easy for anyone.
It isn’t easy, but with courage it can be a delight.
Very simply put, this life cannot
satisfy us unless we venture through life by faith. This is where Jesus Christ
fits in—the man and God that Christians revere.
Turning Our Sense of Belonging Upside
Down
When the original listeners of
Jesus heard him speak, they heard him speak of another world—an eternal world—a
true Home. This eternal world, Jesus said, is the world we really belong in. He
said this earthly world cannot satisfy us. Only where we put our hopes on the
next world do we arrive at a modus operandi that works in this life.
Then, and only then, does enduring
this life make any sense whatsoever.
Whenever we finally arrive at the
understanding that pushing our own barrow, and fighting our own fight, is
useless, we come to a decision point. Some go one way and give up entirely,
suiciding their way out of life. That is an awful waste. But just the same,
there are some that run headlong into the arms of God. And there they find rest
for their souls; a rest they were intrinsically wired to receive. (By far the
majority fend regardless in an entirely unsatisfactory life, pretending to be
satisfied by their worldly distractions.)
Some may accuse these searchers of
running to another addiction.
In reality, God ordained from the
beginning that there should only be one devotion—a sort of devotion that is
completely healthy and life-giving. Probably every other devotion falls short
of healthiness.
The only way we can survive
happily in this life, importantly, in a truthful way, is to become open and to
stay open with God; to establish a relationship with the Father, through his
Son. Through faith in the Son—through what Jesus did on the cross to absolve us
and repeal the cost of our sin—we gain the power of grace, which powers us
through all dissatisfaction and delivers us to a way for living that is
abundantly sustainable.
***
There’s a reason this life is a
struggle. We were made for another world. Our desires rally and rage, proof of
the unsatisfying nature of this life. But there is lasting satisfaction in the
Lord Jesus, who has prepared for us our Home in eternity; a reality we may have
a foretaste of now.
© 2013 S. J. Wickham.
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