We don't have to look very far to see people who are searching for something. Actually pulling out a mirror could do that for most people. Let's face it: no matter who we are or where we come from, we are all looking for something more.
I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone say I'll be happy when I get a promotion or I'll be happy when I have more in my bank account or I'll be happy when I have a significant other or I'll be happy when ____________ (fill in the blank).
As a result we've become a Starbuck drinking, ipod listening, suv driving, credit card buying generation and we're still not happy. Then we convince ourselves that if only our lives were different, we'd be happy. So we buy lottery tickets and hope for our fifteen minutes of fame and when that doesn't pan out, we still hope because we've convinced ourselves that if only we were rich and famous, then we'd be content.
Well recently I read an interview with someone who put a hole in that theory. Jim Carrey (who happens to be both rich and famous) said: "I wish everyone could get rich and famous and everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that's not the answer."
This is coming from someone who lives in a California mansion, who has made more than $25 million for shooting just one film (Bruce Almighty) and who in 2003 was named Hollywood's top-paid actors. Most people would think Jim Carrey would be on top of the world, but he honestly admits that the money, the fame, and even having everything you could dream of is not the answer.
So what is the answer? It may sound simplistic, but really the answer is Jesus.
Jesus is the only One who can complete us (Col. 2:10). Jesus is the only One who can heal us, from both the inside and out (1 Peter 2:24). Jesus is the only One who can give us lasting joy (John 16:22). Jesus is the only One who can give us peace, even in the midst of troubling times (Phil. 4:7). Jesus is the answer to what we are looking for.
And we are looking. In their chart topping song "Meant To Live" Switchfoot sings:
"We want more than this world's got to offer
We want more than than the wars of our fathers
And everything inside screams for second life.
We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?"
I believe many of us have lost ourselves but the good news is we can also be found. The same shepherd who left the ninety-nine for the one who wandered off finds us wherever we are. And when we allow Him to, He comes in and changes us from the inside out.
We were meant to live for so much more. Thank God because it would be a pretty depressing world if we weren't.
2 comments:
You've said it Kristen I've been rich and I've been poor, but the only time I have really been happy is when Christ came into my life. Since then the hills and valleys are a lot more even, although when I truely examine them they were both higher and deeper then they were b4 I was saved but I'm not going through them alone which makes it so much easier.
Eric: Thanks for the encouraging comment. It's refreshing that you still hold so tightly to that, especially considering what you and your family are facing right now.
Alice: I can relate with you on that. I don't think God gives anyone what they want all the time, but I do still believe that He gives us what we need. It can be hard though to accept that, but I guess in the end we have to trust that He knows us better than we know ourselves!
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