Our Teaching Pastor, Tony Merida, had a thought provoking write-up in our last newsletter. I wanted to share a bit of it with you.
( Let the plagiarism begin!)
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"The spirit of the age is discontentment. Millions 'chase the wind' after everything under the sun. In the words of Solomon, a man who had everything modern man desires (wealth, women, wine, wisdom), the quest to find contentment and satisfaction in these things proved to be "meaningless", "vain", "futile", and "empty".
We were made to be satisfied
in God Himself, who has sent
His Son to save us from our sin and futility.
1 Peter 1:18
But the Christmas season is a time in which millions of people repeat Solomon's folly. While material goods are not evil in and of themselves, and should be enjoyed with a sense of thankfulness to God and to the gift-givers, they will never satisfy the deepest longings of the hearts of a people made in God's image.
The poem Present Tense honestly conveys the empty spirit of modern man. So what do you want this Christmas, in life itself? May I suggest that we give up chasing the wind and accept what Augustine finally realized after a life of pleasure-seeking;
You have made us for Yourself, O Lord,
and our hearts are restless,
until they find their rest in You.
Present Tense
It was spring, but it was summer I wanted,
The warm days, and the great outdoors.
It was summer, but it was fall I wanted,
The colorful leaves, and the cool, dry air.
It was fall, but it was winter I wanted,
The beautiful snow, and the joy of the holiday season.
It was winter, but it was spring I wanted,
The warmth and the blossoming of nature.
I was a child, but it was adulthood I wanted,
The freedom and respect.
I was 20, but it was 30 I wanted,
To be mature, and sophisticated.
I was middle-aged, but it was 20 I wanted,
The youth and the free spirit.
I was retired, but it was middle age I wanted,
The presence of mind without limitations.
My life was over,
and I never got what I wanted.
(Written by Jason Lehman ~ when he was 14 years old.)
Augustine discovered what Paul referred to as the 'secret' of contentment. What was that secret?
It was simply knowing Christ.
(Phil. 3:10, 4:11-13)
May we find our satisfaction this season, and in every season, in Jesus - the infant ruler born in Bethlehem . . ."
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