How many of you have a bicycle in your living room? Yeah, that’s what I thought! I am one of few who will read this post who has a bicycle in their living room. “Big deal,” you say. I know, it’s not that big of a deal but for me it is a reminder of something I once wanted….something I forgot about, or just lost interest in. I am sure many of you can identify with that at least. How many times do we set out after an idea or a goal and veer off or stop all together before we even reach the halfway point? I am guilty of this concerning many thing in my life. This summer, in fact, might be the record setter for failed attempts to try at something I wanted to accomplish…just ask the dead zinnia plant or the parched tomato plant sitting on my porch. Garden fail. Oh, and if you can find the ghosts of my 2 dead goldfish, Herbal and Essence, you could ask them about my desire to keep goldfish. Pet Owner Fail. There is a basket full of yarn in my bedroom and 3 half-finished scarfs that I started over a year ago. Knitting Fail. And that bicycle? Well, it’s been in the same spot for at least 3 weeks…Super Cool Dentony Hardcore Biker Fail. Then there is the guitar and the bookshelf overloaded with books and all of those empty canvases….
Ok, so I am done with the complaining and the negativity, but honestly, take a look around at how many things that are left undone just because you got distracted or bored? You might be different from me, but I know I need to open my eyes to all that is at my finger tips!!! I should never have to speak the words, “I am bored.” Why? I have all of these things to accomplish and better yet, I actually enjoy doing them! So why do I push them aside so easily and dream of a more exciting life? I am living the unique artsy life that I always dreamed of and yet I am not satisfied. Have you ever wondered why?
Well, maybe it’s not wrong to want more….but you see, it’s not really more or excitement that I desire it’s depth and meaning and purpose. Diving into more hobbies is not going to extinguish this lacking boredom that settles in my gut about this time of year, that I numb with a dose of “well, things will pick up when school starts!” No, I desire more. I crave more and it’s not going to come from that bicycle in my living room.
As physical and spiritual beings, we are created with a “hole” in us that can only be filled adequately by God. Knowing God on an intimate level through a personal relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ is the only way that void can be filled. Once God has inhabited that void, He will not leave:
…neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. -Romans 8:39
So, we cannot be separated from Him, but we can be distant. It is my belief that this desire for more in our lives is in fact, our desire for God. As a believer, that desire will not be satisfied unless I find my satisfaction in the Lord and in following after Him whole-heartedly again and again and again. We continue to desire more because God keeps desiring more of us. He wants a relationship with us built on now, not the prayer for forgiveness prayed five years ago. To the unbeliever, that desire for more is your soul crying out to be filled by the Creator of the Universe and the Savior of the World. The same is true for both groups; our yearning for depth and excitement and mystery will only be filled when we surrender and run after the Savior of our souls. Paul of the Bible had this idea down:
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 3:13-14
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. -2 Timothy 4:6-8
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. -1 Corinthians 9:25
Living out the call of God in your life where ever you are at physically, spiritually and mentally is the only thing that will satisfy and bring you true joy.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us… -Hebrews 12:1
Stay focused and run with endurance so that your life will be filled with meaning and depth and excitement. In Christ is where all of that which we desire most deeply is found. By no means am I telling you to scrap your bicycle or throw our your knitting and kick over your flower pots. I am simply reminding you to not look to those things or any new hobby you can think up to fulfill your life. Only Jesus can do that, and He does it quite perfectly without your help.
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