Fortunately, we all seem to be born with a massive
magnet sitting in our soul. It’s like a hidden longing. It pulls us towards
something… We are not too sure where or what it is pulling us towards. It just
feels like whatever this thing is that our soul craves, it is always out of
reach. I know this feeling well. Sometimes the pull can threaten to ruin
everything. Even meaning itself.
The pull is easy to misinterpret. It is easy to
attribute this discontent to something that we don’t have. Maybe the job that
we want or the girl we don’t have yet. It could be anything really, how would
we know? We check these things off the list one by one but the indomitable
monster is still hungry.
But I have been thinking about life after truth. A
person can get so used to living life in the uneasy truce between what our soul
is craving and the emptiness that we have come to expect. When we unexpectedly
stumble across the person of Christ it can take awhile to adjust! The new-found
peace itself is so unusual that it is a bit unnerving.
Life after truth doesn’t mean the end of the spiritual
quest. If we are not careful we can even slump back into a morbid outlook on
life that is not consistent with our new world-view. I still don’t have all my
answers, I still feel really confused and disappointed sometimes. But here is
the difference, I have met the man called Truth. I know that all my answers are
hidden in Christ. There is a dawning hope.
Lewis said it best when he said [I paraphrase] that
coming to Christ is like coming into the sun. Not only can I see the light of
the sun, but by its light I see the world. Finding Christ is not just finding
meaning. He is the one that makes life meaningful to me. It is his
companionship that feeds the longing in my soul, and it is his wisdom that
gives me understanding about the world around me.
The other day I came home from a surf feeling
disappointed. But it was more than just a bad surf. It was like my life had
started to felt empty and meaningless. As I lay in the bath I began to pray in
tongues and thank my heavenly father for his companionship. As I did this it
was like I had taken a shot of brandy. It was like my soul, my whole being,
began to warm. I felt safe in good company. When I left my house again I walked
with purpose in my step and joy in my heart. This is the new life with God’s
Spirit. It’s the quest without the angst. I’m still looking for truth. I still
experience spiritual longing. But I know where to start looking and who is going
to help me find comfort. I know that my longing will be completely satisfied
when I am home with Christ.
“And he made from one man every nation of mankind to
live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the
boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that
they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far
from each one of us”. – Acts 17:26
Awesome!
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