I remember as a child going to the beach and building castles on the sand. I would labor tirelessly digging trenches, building towers, making elaborate structures, constructing walls. Then, out of the blue, a big ole wave would come rushing up and obliterate part of the castle. The walls no match for the power of the wave. As the walls disintegrated, the water would flood the trenches. The elaborately built towers would start to collapse as the foundation corroded away. In haste, I would do all in my power to rebuild the walls, to restore the structure. But then another big wave would come. Then another. And another. I fought a loosing battle as I watched my castle come crumbling down around me. It was no match for the waves.
I also remember having a sand toy that was a sieve. It had a plastic mesh with square holes. I could fill it up with sand, but in a matter of moments the sand would filter through the square holes, and the sieve would be empty again.
Success. Money and wealth. Fame and fortune. Dating relationships. Marriage. Having kids. Owning a house. That dream job. That exotic sports car. That big screen TV. These are just a few of the things the world says we will find fulfillment in. If we are successful, then we will be happy. If we have lots of money and can buy anything we want, then we will be happy. If you are single, then you need to get into a relationship to be happy. If you are in a relationship, you have to get married to that person in order to be happy. If you are married to someone, then you need to have kids, own a home, and have a car to be happy. But what happens when we get those things? Are we really happy? Are we really satisfied? Maybe for a bit. But we are left wanting more. After a while, we need more to be happy. We need more to find fulfillment. We need more to be satisfied. The things we already have aren't enough because we are told that we always need more. And we buy into it. Hook, line, and sinker. We put so much time and effort into things that, in the end, only bring us a little bit of satisfaction. But that satisfaction quickly fades away, like our castles in the sand, and we are left empty. That's really messed up. Is that anyway to live life? Is that what it is really all about?
Like sand in the sieve, we try to fill out lives with things we think will
bring us fulfillment. We want what we want right now. We don't want to wait. We
want to have that happiness, that joy, that satisfaction, that fulfillment
right now. We want relief from our stress right now, so we smoke cigarettes to
relax. We want relief from the pains in life right now, so we get drunk or high
to block it all out. We want pleasure right now, so we watch porn, or have sex
with people we barely even know. We want to buy cool things to impress our
friends right now, so we spend all our money, max out credit cards, and get
into debt to get those things. We want so many things right now, and we will do
whatever it takes to get those things. But what happens when we get those
things? Are we really happy? Are we really satisfied? Maybe for a bit. But like
just as quickly as the sand gets filtered through the sieve, so too our
happiness and satisfaction quickly evaporate and we are left empty. Is that
anyway to live life? Is that what life is really all about?
What is life really about? What are we here for? What will really bring that
lasting joy, satisfaction, and fulfillment in life?
In the beginning, God created man and woman in his own image. He placed them in a beautiful garden, the garden of Eden, where they regularly communed with God. They walked and talked with Him, and shared in His infinite love, joy, peace. They found fulfillment and satisfaction in this, and in doing His will; caring for the garden and the creatures living there. It must have been an amazing experience! Imagine, being in a garden far more splendid and beautiful then all of the seven wonders of the world combined, and being able to commune with God! Your own creator who made you in His image and likeness! Real joy, love, satisfaction, fulfillment in doing the Creator's will and just being in His presence! It was perfection!
Well, almost perfection. Then sin came into the picture. Man disobeyed God by eating of the one tree in the entire garden of which they were commanded not to eat. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan came on the scene and convinced man that God was holding back on them. "Did God really say, 'you must not eat from any tree in the garden'? Oh, so God said you couldn't eat from only that one tree now did he? And you will surely die if you do? Naw, you won't surely die. God's holding back on you. He doesn't want you to be like him, knowing both good and evil. Look! The fruit is good for eating! It is pleasing to the eye! You can gain real wisdom! Just eat, and you will truly be satisfied, for you will be like God."
So man ate of the food. But what really happened? Where they really happy? Where they really satisfied? Maybe for the first few bites. But then their eyes were open, and they became self-aware. They realized they were naked and hid themselves. They felt ashamed. They became afraid of God. God knew immediately what had happened and confronted them. Because of their disobedience, they were removed from the garden of Eden, and could not return.
I wounder what that must have felt like. To have been removed from the garden, and separated from that regular communion with God. To have severed that deep, intimate connection with their Creator. To no longer be able to fully experience the Creator's love, joy, peace and the satisfaction and fulfillment that came from that. It might have felt something like this:
Picture yourself having married an amazing person. This person is the one. Your connection with this person is so deep, and intimate that no amount of words in any language could describe it. This person is everything you could have hoped for and so much more. This person may not be a model, but they have such a beautiful heart. You cherish and love each other very deeply.
But then someone else enters the picture. And this person is drop-dead-gorgeous. Incredibly hot and seductive. Their words as sweet as honey and flow silky-smooth. They entice you and you give in. You give in and commit adultery with this person. Then your spouse finds out. And they are utterly devastated. Devastated and crushed. Devastated and crushed and hurt deeply. They had given you something so precious, so pure. They had given you their heart, their love. But in your quest for fulfilling your own selfish desires, you cast it aside for something far less. And you know it. You feel it. It tears you up inside. Your connection with your spouse becomes severed, and they leave you.
That is only a fraction of what Adan and Eve must have felt. They were created to be image bearers of God. They were created to do His will. They experienced the fullness of God's love, joy and peace. But they blew it. Big time. So too we are created in God's image to be image bearers of God. This is our purpose. That is why we are here.
But wait! If we are called to be image bearers of God, that would require us to be perfect right? To be holy as God is holy. How is that even possible? I mean, we have a hard enough time doing what is right with our flesh constantly pulling us this way and that, let alone being perfect. After all we are tainted by sin and naturally do what is wrong! How then, is it even possible for us to be an image bearer of God?
You are correct. It is impossible. It is impossible for us to do any good on our own. Even the "good" that we do is like filthy rags before God. We are incapable of being image bearers of God on our own power.
So is that it? Are we stuck? Are we doomed to eternal punishment because of our sin and our in ability to perfectly live out our calling?
In our current state, yes. But wait! There is more to the story! Before God kicked Adam and Eve out of the garden God gave them a promise in the form of a curse to Satan: "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel" (Genesis 3:15). This "he" who will crush the serpent's head is non other than Jesus Christ, God's only son. And Jesus Christ did indeed come into the world to fulfill that very purpose. He came so that we may have life and live it to the full (John 10:10). He did not come to fulfill the desires of his flesh, but to serve others, and ultimately give his life as a ransom for ours (Mark 10:45). He came to die on a cruel cross, to bear the curse of our sin for us, and to be the righteous, perfect substitute for our unrighteousness (1 Peter 3:18, Galatians 3:13). He was the perfect image of God for he was fully God and fully man. He came to do what we could not do and die, not because of anything he had done, but for all that we had done. Through his death, burial, and resurrection, he crushed Satan's head and will cast Satan into the flaming abyss in the end times. Jesus' blood was shed for our sin, and we are washed white as snow (Matthew 26:27 , Isaiah 1:18). Jesus' blood is what makes us holy, and we can enter God's presence with confidence for we are clothed with garments of righteousness (Hebrews 10:19-20, 13:12, Isaiah 61:10). So we are not doomed at all! But instead we are declared holy and righteous before God through Christ's blood shed for us on the cross.We image God not by what we do, but by what Christ has already done for us!
So now we are faced with a choice. Will we accept by faith what God has done for us through the person and work of Jesus Christ? Will we allow Him to work in us and through us? Will we seek to love God and be loved, sustained, and fulfilled by Him alone? Or will we choose to live for our own selfish desires? Will we waste away our lives chasing after what the world says will bring us fulfillment only to receive a small amount of satisfaction that quickly evaporates? Will we try to satisfy our wants only to be left empty over and over again? The castles in the sand will wash away, and the sieve will empty faster than we can fill it, but God's love will always remain. Choose wisely.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ All Along ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By: Remedy Drive
It’s not everything it seems - the world and its dreams
Slipping like water through my hands tonight
All the things I thought would fill me up inside
Left me empty here - and now I know why
All along I was looking for something else
You’re something else
All along I was looking for something more
You’re so much more
I finally found what I could never see before
You’ve always been the one that I was looking for
All of my castles in the sand - washed away again
And I’m left back where I began tonight
The only thing that can ever fill me up
Has been right in front of me all the time
All along I was looking for something else
You’re something else
All along I was looking for something more
You’re so much more
I finally found what I could never see before
You’ve always been the one that I was looking for
And I won’t miss you - I won’t miss you this time
And I say I want you - yeah I want you in my life
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