My soul longs. It always desires more. It hungers. It seeks. It thirsts. Indeed, it craves. My soul is like a yearning machine. This can take the form of selfish idolatry, in which case I am perpetually unsatisfied and ungrateful. Or it can take the form of a holy longing for that which is of eternal value.
I don’t always know which one I’m experiencing. I can’t trust my heart, exclusively, to guide me (Jeremiah 17:9). It can be as crooked as a rural road in East Tennessee. But some of those same roads can be the most beautiful. Here’s my point: though it can become severely misdirected this side of heaven, my byzantine heart has the capacity to deeply love that which is truly lovely. And, if you’re a follower of Jesus Christ, then I’m going to loop you into my musings today.
As believers under the New Covenant, you see, Jeremiah doesn’t tell our entire story. Thankfully, the New Testament adds some critical clarity for us. Please allow me to mention just a few key truths. First of all, God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). Secondly, though we were once slaves of sin, now we have become obedient from the heart (Romans 6:17). Thirdly, we can draw near to God with a true heart in full assurance of faith (Hebrews 10:22). Fourthly, we can know that we are of the truth, and we can reassure our heart before God, who is greater than our heart (1 John 3:20). And, if our heart does not condemn us, we can have confidence before the Lord (1 John 3:21).
Yes, you and I are a bit complicated. We still have to wrestle with some of our old sinful and selfish longings. But, by the power of the Spirit who now lives in us, we also have some new and renewed and unselfish longings. After all, because of Jesus, you and I are nothing short of new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17).
WE LONG to feel fully alive. Though our actions sometimes suggest otherwise, none of us wants to remain in a state of perpetual boredom. We may like wasting a little time here or there, but it never satisfies in the ultimate sense. Our cell phones can hold our attention, but they can’t satisfy any of our deepest needs.
WE LONG for the true and beautiful. During different seasons of life, we may be drawn to music with dissonant sounds … or to “art” without rhyme or reason … or to various forms of entertainment which glorify senseless violence. We’ve all been there at one time or another. But, in the end, God has wired us with a profound appreciation for that which makes purposeful sense in its design and display – and which points clearly to God’s own perfections.
WE LONG to be known and loved. Every time I prepare a couple for marriage, I remind them that this is what they both want from the other. I’ve never had a person argue that point with me, because we all know it’s true. This is why the truth of God’s grace toward us is so revolutionary. It is beyond our wildest dreams that the one who knows us best is also the one who loves us most. Thanks be to God!
WE LONG to be understood. Not just the couples planning for marriage, but all of us. We want someone who knows us so well that they can nearly complete our sentences. We want someone who accepts us – warts and all – and who gives us the benefit of the doubt on a regular basis. We want someone who cares about what we think, and how we feel. We want to matter.
WE LONG to enjoy that which is truly enjoyable. We’re weary of lukewarmness. We’re hungry for passion. Left to our own devices, we’ll channel that energy in the wrong direction. So we long for a day when all of our passions will be spent for the glory of God. When our delight will be in Christ, and in Christ alone. When we will live for an audience of One.
WE LONG to make a difference while we’re here. When it’s all said and done, will my impact upon this planet be for good? Will my time here have been well spent? Will my little ripples in the pond point anybody in the right direction? I’m so glad that the Author of my story is also the one who writes the final chapter.
WE LONG for perfect justice. There’s just something so broken about this place … we know that there are no human solutions … none of this injustice will be fixed without a cosmic miracle. “How long, O Lord?” We’re ready for the will of God to be done “on earth as it is in heaven.”
WE LONG to be liberated from a world of evil and strife. We recognize that no human being can broker the kind of peace that this world needs – in the Middle East or anywhere else. Our hearts crave the “shalom” which the Bile promises – the “peace which surpasses all understanding.”
WE LONG for the unbroken presence of God. Sooner or later, we tire of the mountaintop-to-valley spiritual rollercoaster ride. We don’t want another string of short-lived victories followed by another paralyzing defeat by our nagging sin. We get sick and tired of a spiritual journey where our growth in grace keeps getting punctuated by our own pride and ego. We’re ready to be done with all of the shortsighted and myopic spiritual amnesia which all too often has been ours. No. More. Sin. What we’re really longing for is home.
Perhaps C.S. Lewis summarized it best: “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”
Pastor Charles
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