C. S. Lewis wrote in his classic book, Mere Christianity, “Human history...is the long, terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.” If we are willing to be honest, we can look into our own histories, and feel the weight of this truth deep in our souls.
We are people who are driven by our hunger, driven by our appetites for love, for comfort, for happiness, for fulfillment, for safety and security….you name it, you can fill in the blank...the point is we have these desires...these hungers...these appetites and we live our lives out of these needs, searching to find the satisfaction that we so desperately want. And you know what, look at the list of needs, they aren’t necessarily evil things. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be happy. There is nothing wrong with wanting love. There is nothing wrong with wanting safety and security or of comfort. Our problem lies not in our hungers but in what (or shall I say whom) we look to and the lengths in which we are willing to go to find satisfaction for those hungers.
We spend our entire lives looking to find satisfaction for our appetite for love in the faces of human lovers, selling our souls and our bodies in the hopes that at last we will find the one who will meet the deepest longing of our hearts, only to again and again find ourselves disappointed, disillusioned, and discouraged.
We search endlessly for the ever-elusive happiness, in careers, in relationships, in our hobbies, in the accumulation of wealth or status or prestige. We willingly lay down our convictions in the pursuit of this happiness, making sacrifices that one day will lead to regret, only to find that once we get the prize, it’s still not enough. The joy we feel at the achievement, lasts but a moment, and soon the longing returns. The ache is still there.
Restless and empty, hungry and thirsty, we get more and more desperate to fill the ever increasing emptiness in our souls, running from well to well, hoping that maybe this well will finally be the well that will satisfy our deepest longings. Only to take a drink and realize it’s mud. And our thirst remains.
Until one day, in our state of desperation, we look up at a well to finally see Someone there. Someone who has been there all along. Someone who, in fact, has been at every well we visited, but this time, this time our eyes were opened so we could SEE Him. And He asks, “Are you thirsty? Are you hungry? Come to Me to satisfy your hunger and thirst.”
Jesus is inviting you to come to HIM with your appetites. To come to Him with your hungers. To find your satisfaction in Him. Your longing for love will only be satisfied in the love of Christ. There is no human love that can compare to the love you already have in Christ. Consider Him, who knew no sin, became sin for you. Consider Him, who had all the wealth and majesty of heaven at his fingertips, gave it all up to live a life the can best be described as “without”...without a home, without food, without a place to lay his head...He did that because of His love for you. Consider Jesus, who’s love for you, propelled Him to lay down His life...to literally die in your place. Consider this...Jesus is a lover that will never leave you. He is a lover that will never fail you. He is a lover that loves unconditionally. He is a lover that loves completely selflessly. He is a lover that loves eternally. There is no love quite like that. Delight yourself in this love. Delight yourself in Him.
Jesus is inviting you to come to Him with your thirst for acceptance. He has seen all that you are. He has seen all that you have done. He has heard your every thought. Everything. Even the dark ones. He sees your hidden motives. He knows the lies. He knows it all. And He is inviting you into relationship with Him. Consider Him...who pursues sinners (because that’s what we all are) in the midst of their sin and offers them forgiveness and love. Consider Him, who Scripture tells us that while we were His enemies...do you hear that...His enemies, He died for us! Consider Jesus, who lived His live here perfectly without any sin, and offers you that perfect life so that you, with all your imperfections, can be fully accepted by God as one who is perfect. Delight yourself in His acceptance. Delight yourself in Him.
Jesus is inviting you to come to Him with your hunger for safety and security. He wants you to know that He is your portion. He is your great reward that cannot be taken from you. He is your shield and your defender. He is your protector and provider. Delight yourself and rest in His safety and security. Delight yourself in Him.
Jesus is inviting you to come to Him with your appetite for happiness for in truth there is no such thing as happiness outside of life with Him. Delight yourself in Him.
Let this season of Lent be the beginning of seeking and finding satisfaction in God and God alone. Lent this lent season be the beginning of answering the invitation of Jesus to “Come all who are thirsty, come to the waters...come buy wine and milk without money and without cost...listen, listen to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.”
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