A Journey of Desire

Philippians 1:21-23 (NIV)
²¹ For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
²² If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!
²³ I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;

It was the band U2 that sang the words, "I still haven't found what I'm looking for."

I've been reading a new book of late.  It's another one by one of my favorite authors, John Ortberg. He has a knack for writing in such a way that I find myself thinking, musing, and praying.  So I enjoy his reads quite a bit.
He said something in this book that got me thinking.
"Something has happened, something terrible.  Something worse, even, than the fall...  In that great tragedy we lost paradise...what has happened since is...we've gotten use to it."

Scripture says that Satan blinds the minds of those that don't believe (2 Cor. 4:4), and the prophet said, "the people who walk in darkness have seen a great light."  Perhaps we live around the darkness so much that we've acclimated our eyes to this dimness.

We wake up, brush our teeth, have some coffee or tea, perhaps turn on the news, or read a paper.  We go to work, come home and eat some supper.  Put the kids to bed, watch the TV, and go to bed...where the next day it begins all over again.
Famine in one part of the world,
Political messes in Washington,
Politicians promising change, or hope, or railing against the failures, etc...
Threats of war in the Middle East,
Life goes on and on without much change.

The TV anchor closes the show with:  "And that's the news, good night".
Wouldn't it be great if one news anchor would stop at the end, look into the camera and say, "How far we are from home...if only we had listened to God."???

If I told you that life would always be the way it is now, would you be depressed, or delighted?  Would you be happy or sad?

Each of us lives our in such a way that life is either moving towards something, or we're just spinning around and around doing the "same old things".

The secret is that we are NOT HOME YET.  Life is usual and yet life is not all that we were made for.  If we truly listen to our hearts we will know what the English giant G.K. Chesterton described as "divine discontent".
We are not home yet, and no matter how enjoyable the vacation, and even the times when we think "I wished this would never end..." we always long for home.

The journey of desire is the most important journey of our lives.  Whatever else we gain - money, possessions, the approval of others, even the enjoyment of family - it is not the end, and our souls know it.
Matthew 16:25-26 (NIV)
²⁵ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.
²⁶ What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

One of my favorite (I have lots of favorites) movies, the Shawshank Redemption, tells a story of two principles:  Red, played by Morgan Freeman, is a lifer; and Andy, played by Tim Robbins, end up as close friends.  Andy is looking to escape, but Red is philosophical, accepting, and compliant about what is the "reality" that life will always be behind bars.

At one point, Red explains it to Andy:  "At first, these walls, you hate them.  They make you crazy.  After a while you get used to them, don't notice them anymore.  Then comes the day when you realize you don't need them."

It is slavery by simply living in acceptance, losing the desire for freedom and a new home.
It is slavery to prefer death to life.
To desire and not have it...is this not the greatest pain and sorrow?
But does it have to be?

Let us go on a journey together.  Take that map of God's word and walk towards truth, and home.  Lose our lives in Jesus, find life.