I am old enough to know a few things about this life and about the world. It is almost as if I have lived 10 different lives in one. I look around and see many people I know and where they are. I see what they are doing, and it looks a lot like what I tried to do.
When you live this life, there are so many things you can strive for. You strive for your mother and father to be proud of your accomplishments. You strive to have friends who are meaningful. You strive for meaning in your career and in your field of study. You strive to either be in a relationship or to keep a relationship. You strive to be financially secure, mentally secure and emotionally secure. You strive for security, safety, meaning and love.
Are any of these things wrong? Absolutely not. But all of the striving is a matter of worry. We were not created to strive. We were created to freely receive and freely give. Look at the world around us. None of us had to work to have oxygen, water, or anything that is essential to survive. It was already there for us.
However, this world places a price tag on everything, and we buy into it. We say things to ourselves such as: If I look this way, then I will have this. If I study these things, then I will have that. If I go to these places and look for something, then I will have blank.
We want, and we do not grow tired of wanting.
And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:16-21
The world has become about having more. We want more people, more resources, more love, more friends, more money, more possessions, more traveling, more adventure, more quiet, and more noise. You name it. We always want more. We do not grow weary of getting things, and yet we are never satisfied.
Why?
We are seeking something beyond what is so readily accessible. We are seeking living waters that could quench our thirst forever. (John 4).The reality is, the world we live in will pass away. We will die, and none of these things will be there when we are gone. Our wanting will mean nothing, and our striving will be nothing but dust.
What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity. Ecclesiastes 2:22-23
So, if the striving doesn't matter, what does? God does. He is the Alpha and Omega. He is the Beginning and the End. He is the Creator of our beings and everything around us. If we want to begin our story, it must begin with The Beginning, and He is it. If we want to know how it ends, we must also look to Him.
When we get a glimpse of who Jesus is, who He actually is, we cannot live our lives the same. Everything we thought mattered ceases to matter. We begin to understand we have more than enough security in Him. But, that is not all. The security we have in Him does not run out. It is everlasting. We can't strive to get it, and we can't strive to keep it.
He is it. He is the answer to our deepest questions. He is the love we have always been looking for, the Father and Mother we never had. He is the Best of friends. He is the wisest of Counselors. He is the strongest of defenders. He is the greatest provider. In Him, all of our dreams and desires are fulfilled. He gives us the purpose we have been looking for. He invites us on His adventures.
I have tried quite a few things in this world and life. Can I save you some money, striving, and time? None of those things work. Everything you have been looking for is in Jesus. If you haven't tried Jesus, I want to invite you to ask me about Him. If you know about Jesus, but you're stalling, what are you waiting for?
He is the only one that matters, and I'm running to Him.
