Chasing After God Knows What





The spirit of the age is one of discontentment; chasing the wind after everything under the sun. In the words of Solomon, a man who had everything, the quest to find contentment & satisfaction in things under the Sun is “meaningless,” “vain,” and “futile.” You were made to be satisfied not in created things, but in the Creator himself, who has sent His Son to save us from our sin and vain desires.


Christmas season is a time in which countless millions race to find something that will bring a sense of contentment. While all material goods are not evil, in and of themselves, and can be enjoyed with a sense of thankfulness to God, they will never satisfy deeply the way God does. Augustine said, “You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless, until they find their rest in You.”

May we find our contentment this season, and in every season, in the Bread of Life, the infant ruler born in Bethlehem, the House of Bread.

Last Wednesday I finished preaching through Philippians and shared the following poem that conveys the futile search for contentment. Interestingly, Paul told the Philippians that he found the “secret” of contentment. What was it? “Christ” (Phil. 4:13).

PRESENT TENSE
By Jason Lehman

(when he was 14 year old!)

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.