Apples of Gold

One of my friends recently returned from a trip to Africa. I was listening to her share some of her adventures. This particular area had some severe poverty. She shared how she observed children living with next to nothing, as far as possessions go, and yet they were surprisingly joyful. They were not aware that they didn’t have the newest toy, or phone, or even the best food or comfy bed. They were content with their simple lifestyle and found joy in their surroundings.

The flagrant contrast between their satisfaction with simplicity and the never ending pursuit of fulfillment often seen in our culture couldn’t have been more stark. “Entertain me!”, is our demand as we construct entire parks dedicated to our amusement, pay exorbitant fees to watch extremely well-paid people, kick, throw or hit a ball on a field, or pretend they are a superhero (or villian) on a big screen.

As we chase after a mirage, attempting to find fulfillment in experiences or things; it seems the harder we push the further we find ourselves from our goal.

In rural Maine when seeking traveling directions you might hear the following (spoken in a thick Maine accent): “Ay-uh, You can’t get there from here”.  You will not reach your destination on your current trajectory.

If you are trying to find fulfillment by having just a little more, trying one more thing, getting to the next level you will find that you really can’t get there from here. You are headed in the wrong direction. 

There are times that we are so full of our own desires, dreams and goals that there simply isn’t room for us to receive anything from God or anyone else. When we begin to shift our focus from meeting our own desires and onto pouring into the lives of others something amazing happens. Luke puts it like this:

Give and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full-pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back. Luke 6:38

On the surface it seems counter-intuitive. If you want more you need to keep less and yet Jesus promises not only will you get back what you gave but prepare for more. 

Have you ever tried to put 48 oz of flour into a 45 oz container? Come on, admit it. I know I have. I find there is just a little too much to fit on the first pour but sometimes if I shake the container around the flour gets closer together and voila, I can fit more in!  

When we find ourselves struggling with contentment perhaps we need to examine our output. We all can find ourselves becoming focused on our needs, wants and desires, choking off the flow of the Holy Spirit from our lives into the lives of those around us. We can even become obsessed with our own happiness. This is perhaps the quickest way to sabotage our own fulfillment. 

Like the rich fool in Luke 12, hoarding all his crops for himself, we make everything about us. The blessings of God meant to flow through us, meeting our needs and then extending to those around us are met with a dam constructed in an attempt to contain and constrain them for our own use.  

Hear the wise words from James:

You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong-you want only what will give you pleasure. James 4:2-3

How easily we forget that we are called to lay down our lives and pick up the cross of Christ. It is crucial that we return to the place of surrender where our prayers are transformed from “Bless me” to “Use me”. We are called to live a life that is pleasing to God and we sometimes get that the other way around expecting him to please us. 

We can get so distracted and disillusioned by our circumstances. The surest way to find true fulfillment is to lock eyes with our Savior and recognize who really belongs on the throne of our hearts. Jesus gives us the pathway to living in the blessing of God:

God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice for they will be satisfied. God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. God blesses those who work for peace for they will be called the children of God. God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. Matthew 5:3-10