Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Monday August 23, 2010

The other morning as I looked at my projected schedule for the day, the thought hit me that I am wasting too much time with individuals and that I need to save more time for building the ministry. Truth be told, this may be the most ridiculously unbiblical thought I have ever entertained. I wondered; could this train of thought be rooted in the idea that if the ministry really takes off, I will, at long last, just prior to the breaking of the silver cord, be happy?

Viktor Frankl wrote his famous "Man's Search For Meaning" as a result of the intense seeking for meaning in the crucible of German Concentration camps. Outside of such places of horror, man spends most of his life allotment searching for happiness in an endless assortment of supposed vessels of happiness. All in vain.

C.S. Lewis concerning the search painted the truth of the vastness of the search in a statement in "Mere Christianity" when he penned this line:

"All that we call human history--money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery--[is] the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy."

To add to this list, think about something that you imagined that if you had, it/them, you would be happy for the rest of earthly life. If you attained/got what you thought about, are you now exquisitely happy? Most would honestly answer, NO.

Until Jesus comes life in the Vale of Tears will continue along its bittersweet path and the happiness we desperately long for, dream of and often do unspeakable things in the quest for, will elude our grasp. That which we strive to seize and clutch to our hearts, without fail turns out to be but a vapor, a vapor that mimics the life we live, very temporary at best.

When John the Apostle was stripped of prestige, clothing and freedom of movement, he was able to maintain a joy in the most primitive circumstances. Exiled to the Isle of Patmos, destitute of the comfort of communion with the Saints, he experienced intense fellowship with Christ. It is summed up best with this statement from Revelation 1:10:

I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

The following is the Book of Revelation and John's focus was not on circumstance, but on Christ in all His glory. And so must it be with us if we want inner peace.

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2010 Use with credit

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