Passing By
As mortal beings, we long for the things that are most important to our survival. Physically: food, water, shelter, and the like. But our spiritual needs are just as important. Our souls crave life, and not just any life, but the kind of life that is lived to the fullest, so that it is pushed beyond the boundaries of its own existence.
We seek out a meaningful existence in many different forms. Acts of kindness, impacting others, building things, creating ideas, we've tried it all. But sooner or later, we realize nothing is fulfilling us. So we watch others live their "full" lives, searching for the key by reading books, watching TV shows, listening to music...
The sad irony is that while we are spending time watching everyone else live their lives, our own is passing us by. We miss romance while watching romance movies. We pass up the chance to help others because we are caught up in the story of our favorite self-sacraficing heroes. We don't get to experience so many wonderful things because we are too busy watching everyone else enjoy them.
When we realize that our souls long for life that only God can provide, we stop searching for the life in everything else and learn to enjoy it. Fulfillment doesn't come from a job or title; it can't be found in a movie or a song lyric. But when we allow God to satisfy, we can use our job for good, or enjoy the music, because our value is no longer attached to it.
We long for God and anything we try to replace Him with is an idol. But when we stop worshipping these false things and turn instead to our Creator, we might see our idols in His light. Though they will be weak and fading compared to His glory, they may also be beautiful when realize the purpose for which He created them.
"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God." -Psalm 42:1
We seek out a meaningful existence in many different forms. Acts of kindness, impacting others, building things, creating ideas, we've tried it all. But sooner or later, we realize nothing is fulfilling us. So we watch others live their "full" lives, searching for the key by reading books, watching TV shows, listening to music...
The sad irony is that while we are spending time watching everyone else live their lives, our own is passing us by. We miss romance while watching romance movies. We pass up the chance to help others because we are caught up in the story of our favorite self-sacraficing heroes. We don't get to experience so many wonderful things because we are too busy watching everyone else enjoy them.
When we realize that our souls long for life that only God can provide, we stop searching for the life in everything else and learn to enjoy it. Fulfillment doesn't come from a job or title; it can't be found in a movie or a song lyric. But when we allow God to satisfy, we can use our job for good, or enjoy the music, because our value is no longer attached to it.
We long for God and anything we try to replace Him with is an idol. But when we stop worshipping these false things and turn instead to our Creator, we might see our idols in His light. Though they will be weak and fading compared to His glory, they may also be beautiful when realize the purpose for which He created them.
"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God." -Psalm 42:1
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