Sunday, February 17, 2008
The hunger for God should never fade.
' If you don't feel strong desires for the manifestation for the glory of God it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satified. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world' - John Piper
Heaven. How much do we want it?
‘Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.’
We live in a world all about seeing and touching and feeling and having and owning and proving; a world all about now . Having now, satifying now, seeing now, touching now, owning now. Why spend hours cooking when you can just buy it ready and have it now? Why be slow to speak when you can just blurt out what you want to say now and let off steam and apologies later? Why wait till you get married to have sex when you can just have it now? Why worry about the consequences of life when you can just live how you want now? Why think about heaven when you can see earth now?
If you read Hebrews chapter 11 you will realise that, yes it’s all about faith, but more than that, it’s all about heaven, eternity, the hope that that is, the bigger picture.. Having faith that the bigger picture actually exists…
It’s about Abraham longing for and believing in a city with foundations where the builder and architect was God, even though he spent his life as a nomad, as a stranger in a foreign land, living in tents in a place where the streets deffinety where not made of gold. Despite this, he didn’t just hope for something more but he believed in it, he was sure and confident of it and because of that he journeyed on.
It’s about Moses who saw past the luxuries offered to him as the pharaoh’s daughter’s son and chose to see the sin and injustice surrounding him and to see the Lord calling him to rise above. It’d about Moses knowing that there are greater things beckoning him than the riches surrounding him in Egypt. It’s about him having so much faith and hope in that that he is able to take on the disgrace in the hope of the coming Messiah.
It’s about not being satified with what the world offers, it’s about seeing past what’s being offered on the plate and getting up, not just making do with what the world is serving you. But it’s not just about despairingly wanting more and feeling unsatisfied. It’s about a continuous hunger and longing for more, receiving from the Lord and being sustained to continue forwards. It’s about refusing to believe that what we see is all there is. Refusing to believe that pain is all there is, that hunger will have the last word, that war will have the last word, that injustice will have the last word, that lies will always deceive…
It’s about being ok with not being of the world, being ok with being an alien, being ok with sticking out, surrending to the fact that we are different and stopping trying to be accepted at the expensive of pleasing the Lord. Being ok with this because we have the hope written in our hearts that there is a better country, a country where we have come from, a place where we will never again experience the feeling of being rejected or alienated. A place where we will experience complete and utter acceptance. It’s about not giving in to the things of this world but continuously seeking for a better country. Seeking to bring heaven to earth.
‘ and for them God is not ashamed to be called their God for he has prepared a city for them’
It’s about wanting it enough and not allowing any substitutes to numb the hunger, or to blind us, no matter how painful the longing and hunger can be, no matter how long and hard the journey may be. And it’s about believing that you hunger and hope and longing will be fulfilled.
We live in a world all about seeing and touching and feeling and having and owning and proving; a world all about now . Having now, satifying now, seeing now, touching now, owning now. Why spend hours cooking when you can just buy it ready and have it now? Why be slow to speak when you can just blurt out what you want to say now and let off steam and apologies later? Why wait till you get married to have sex when you can just have it now? Why worry about the consequences of life when you can just live how you want now? Why think about heaven when you can see earth now?
If you read Hebrews chapter 11 you will realise that, yes it’s all about faith, but more than that, it’s all about heaven, eternity, the hope that that is, the bigger picture.. Having faith that the bigger picture actually exists…
It’s about Abraham longing for and believing in a city with foundations where the builder and architect was God, even though he spent his life as a nomad, as a stranger in a foreign land, living in tents in a place where the streets deffinety where not made of gold. Despite this, he didn’t just hope for something more but he believed in it, he was sure and confident of it and because of that he journeyed on.
It’s about Moses who saw past the luxuries offered to him as the pharaoh’s daughter’s son and chose to see the sin and injustice surrounding him and to see the Lord calling him to rise above. It’d about Moses knowing that there are greater things beckoning him than the riches surrounding him in Egypt. It’s about him having so much faith and hope in that that he is able to take on the disgrace in the hope of the coming Messiah.
It’s about not being satified with what the world offers, it’s about seeing past what’s being offered on the plate and getting up, not just making do with what the world is serving you. But it’s not just about despairingly wanting more and feeling unsatisfied. It’s about a continuous hunger and longing for more, receiving from the Lord and being sustained to continue forwards. It’s about refusing to believe that what we see is all there is. Refusing to believe that pain is all there is, that hunger will have the last word, that war will have the last word, that injustice will have the last word, that lies will always deceive…
It’s about being ok with not being of the world, being ok with being an alien, being ok with sticking out, surrending to the fact that we are different and stopping trying to be accepted at the expensive of pleasing the Lord. Being ok with this because we have the hope written in our hearts that there is a better country, a country where we have come from, a place where we will never again experience the feeling of being rejected or alienated. A place where we will experience complete and utter acceptance. It’s about not giving in to the things of this world but continuously seeking for a better country. Seeking to bring heaven to earth.
‘ and for them God is not ashamed to be called their God for he has prepared a city for them’
It’s about wanting it enough and not allowing any substitutes to numb the hunger, or to blind us, no matter how painful the longing and hunger can be, no matter how long and hard the journey may be. And it’s about believing that you hunger and hope and longing will be fulfilled.
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