Hopes and Dreams

Sometimes the things we hope for in life look like this: 

But once we have them, they turn out like this:

Which of us hasn't planned the perfect family holiday meal only to have it start with the kids arguing over where they will sit? Or struggling to push away the hurt feelings from a thoughtless comment offhandedly spoken by a relative? We try so hard to make everything just right...

We live in a broken world. So often the things we put our hope in don't live up to our expectations. A great example of this was last Christmas. My daughter wanted an electronic dog that would obey her commands. We bought it for her as a Black Friday gift. By the next day, it had malfunctioned and was no longer working. We returned it. At Christmas, she got a child's version of an ipod that lasted 3 days before it failed. Uggh! We can prepare and plan, and try our best, but things happen and our hopes get dashed. Things just don't always work out the way we planned.

That's the challenge we face when we put our hope in things. And even when we put our hope in people. No human being is perfect. People make mistakes, fail, and disappoint us. It's the human condition. We all fall short in so many ways.

But an interesting twist on this came in the form of a sermon last Sunday morning. What if life was this way for a reason?  Think about it - if all these things (or people) in this life fully satisfied us, we'd never search for something more. But as the Bible states, "God has set eternity in the hearts of men." That's why things of earth don't ever fully satisfy us - we are created for something more.

The Bible tells people not to "put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." 1 Timothy 6:17.  And to "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33.  It doesn't mean that the things we enjoy in this life are necessarily bad; they just won't ever satisfy the deepest longings of our souls.

Could it be that God wants us to see beyond them to Himself? To seek Him? To know Him and be known by Him? To have eternal life? John 17:3 says, "Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."

Yes. I believe He does. And as the song says "Wise men still seek him."

May you seek Him and find him this Christmas.

Blessings.