Aching for God...

           Life is filled with longing and desire. We want to make one more dollar, visit one more destination, or meet one more person. There is always something else to want. There is always something else we are certain that we need. However, the ache of the human heart is never satisfied. The pangs of the human soul are never filled by anything in creation. While we certainly can find enjoyment and meaning in many things; none of them completely soothe the ache in our hearts. We are longing for something this universe can never give us. Our deepest desire is to be united again with the One who created us. Our aching hearts long for none other than God Himself.

           

            We long to know the God who created everything we see and the countless things we will never will.  Our hearts long for Eden. We long for a different time and a far away place. We ache to walk with God. Our souls thirst for nothing less than God Himself. The sunsets sing of His grandeur, the oceans proclaim His majesty, and the whole of the cosmos whispers His name. The heart of man aches to know the God who created it all. So what has happened to us? What have we become? It is not that our ambitions have outgrown God, but rather our desires have become too small. We now try to fill the God sized hole with puny knick-knacks and frail ambitions. We long for the pastries of Egypt when the treasure we have always longed for is a Pillar of Cloud right in front of us. Our scrawny flesh longs for the created things, when what we need is the Creator Himself.  Our empires of dirt will never soothe the groaning of our souls. We need God!

            The glorious news for us is that Jesus Christ has opened the way to God. If not for Christ all of our efforts would have been in vain. If not for Christ the God who is everywhere could have never been found by us. Yet, in Christ we have access to God. In Christ, Eden is no longer a dream, but rather a reality. In Christ we may once again walk with God!

But oh how quickly we leave Eden for another land. So often we feast on mud cakes instead of feasting on God Himself.  How often we trade a life with God for an empty shell of an existence. Let’s abandon any ambition that does not lead us to God. Let’s pursue the only One worth pursuing.  Let’s remember that the deepest pursuits of our hearts are in vein if they are not rooted in the desire to know God.  For God is not far away! He is close at hand! In Christ our aching hearts can know the God we long for! How beautiful is our God! How matchless is His glory! Let’s joy in the God of our salvation. Let’s soothe our weary hearts by clinging to the God of the gospel!