Looking for Life
We’ve all done it. Every last one of us. But Eve started it, and Adam didn’t want to be left out, so he gave it a try as well. Since that time, every person who has walked the face of the earth has done it, except for Jesus, of course. He had no reason to do it! No, not sin, although yes, that too. This is something that predates sin, and is common to every member of the human race, from the beginning of time, to this very second, and this one, and this one…
Regardless of our age, ethnicity, political party, or financial, social, national, or religious background or situation, we have all done it. We have all “looked for Life” in the wrong places. Over and over and over again, ad infinitum…
It can happen so quickly, or it can be plotted out for hours, or days, or months. It can be a split second decision, or process that one contemplates for far too long. The fact is not only that we have all done it, but that we will all do it again, even though we know that we shouldn’t, and we will wish that we wouldn’t have. And, as Christians, we know that, at some point, we will also regret it, as we have done previously.
One of the most basic, elemental design features that all humans share is this thing we call life. And by that, I mean that which defines us as living, breathing persons. We have a heartbeat. We have blood flowing through our veins. We have breath in our lungs, and thought processes in our minds. We measure this life in the quantity of years, or sometimes tragically, just days. We have this life in common. This is the life that we all have.
But then, there is another kind of Life that we all desire and hope for. This Life is more about quality than it is about quantity; more than about the blood, breath, heartbeats, and calendars. It is about essence, about aliveness, about thrills, about excitement, about living and loving, about amazing feelings and goose bumps, about laugh out loud moments, about deep joy and mountain top experiences, about meaning and purpose, about satisfaction with how we are living, while we are breathing, and our heart is beating, and the blood is still flowing. This is the Life that we all seek.
So what exactly did Eve start when she reached for the fruit? It was far more than sin, and more than disobedience. It was more than seeking something pleasing to the eye, and more than desiring something filling for the stomach. Eve started a movement that has been gaining momentum ever since she first contemplated extending her hand toward the tree. Today, this movement is flourishing at a record pace around the globe.
What Eve was looking for, what you and I have been looking for, and what all of us continue to look for, is the ultimate, satisfying, joy possessing Life that gives us the kind of existence that we crave in the depth of our soul, while we live life upon this earth. We are looking for Life in this life. The only problem was that Eve looked for this Life in the wrong place. And all humanity has followed in her footsteps. Yes, even you. And certainly me.
By even considering that which she had been told to not touch, Eve was saying to God, “You are not enough to satisfy me. I need more. I do not trust You.” It is like that also when we reach for things we know are outside of God’s will for us. In essence, we are saying that we don’t trust God. Or we do not believe that God will come through for us. That He is not enough to satisfy us in our times of wandering. So we need something else to fulfill that longing, and we look, inevitably, in wrong places, believing that God is not enough, and that He will not come through for us, like Eve did. We simply don’t trust God in these times.
So Eve could have only believed one of two scenarios about her Creator. Either 1) that God wasn’t enough to satisfy her deepest longing; that He was not who He presented Himself to be, or 2) that God was holding out on her; that He had it within His ability to give her the Life that she was looking for, but for some reason, He chose not to. There were no other options for Eve to believe. And neither are there any other options when you and I choose to look for this Life in the wrong places either. So, is He really not enough, or is He holding out on us?
If we would answer a strong “NO” to both of those questions, then there has to be some other issue causing us to continue our ill advised searches in all the wrong places. There is. It is called “deception.” When we trust that God is good and enough for us, and we do not believe that He would hold out on us, then we would only make wayward choices when the enemy has deceived us, like he did Eve. Deception always brings doubt and questions, even when we know the answers. And the doubts and questions lead us to wrong choices and decisions. Just ask Eve, and Adam.
For you see, no temptation can give you Life, even though that is what it presents to you, and promises to deliver to you. Every temptation you face pretends to offer you Life. Do not be fooled. Temptations do not possess Life, so they cannot deliver Life, but they can take Life, and they can drain Life. Oh,I could tell you stories…
This is the great paradox, that though the temptations present Life to those who would partake, they actually take Life away, leaving brokenness, shame, emptiness, and regret. Temptations are simply counterfeits for the Christian, offering only imitations and shadows of Life’s reality, but never Life itself. Temptations are vicious attacks upon our hearts as their goal is to pull us away from the One who created us for the very Life that we all seek. They are not invitations to something greater. They are entrapments to something less than what God has for us.
Now, we know that it is no sin at all to look for Life! In fact, you and I were created for Life in this life. And we all do, indeed, look for Life! In fact, you ought to be looking for Life diligently! God wants us to live life with Life! That is His plan, and what an awesome plan it is! Jesus said in John 10:10, “I came that you might have Life, and have it more abundantly!” He was referring to BOTH kinds of life (eternal and abundant), but Life was certainly part of His intention. With the physical and eternal kinds of life, you either have it or you don’t. But with Life, there are various shades of it and we always want more, as we move from shade to shade, and Jesus came to give us the “more Life” that we seek and crave. So what He came to give us is a good thing. He wants us to enjoy a high quality of Life in the life. But the problem is that we seek it in the wrong places. Every temptation that you and I have ever succumbed to is an example of how we searched in the wrong place for the Life He came to give us. Thanks Eve (and Adam)!
The simple truth is that every person who has sought their joy and satisfaction from a bottle, or a drug, or position of power was seeking Life. So was every person who sought meaning and purpose through the accumulation of cars, homes, and other expensive toys. As was the person who sought pleasure and aliveness through affairs, adulteries, and other allurements. Not to mention the person who sought fulfillment through fame, recognition, or pornography. They all had this in common; they sought Life in the wrong places.
In 1980, Mickey Gilley sang that he was “lookin’ for love in all the wrong places.” And we could all say that we have looked for Life there as well, that is, in all the wrong places. And what we have partially come to learn is that Life is never in the wrong places we look. The wrong places only have imitations of Life. They have shadows of Life. They have counterfeits of Life. But they never actually have real Life. When will we permanently learn this lesson that has been reinforced in our lives a multitude of times? Will we learn this lesson?
And so why do we keep looking for Life in the wrong places? Because we were created for Life, and we have a deep hunger in our souls for Life. But we have yet to learn that Life is only found in Jesus Christ, and in the Life that He came to give us. I say it elsewhere like this, “The Life that I so desperately crave, is found only in the Life that Jesus so freely gives!” HE ALONE IS LIFE! Jesus says it elsewhere (Lk. 9:24) like this, “For whoever wants to save their Life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.” God has put into the heart of every human, a deep desire, and thirst, a craving for Life, and He has created us in such a way that we find that Life in Him when we seek to glorify Him by our life, as we follow Him and love Him more than anything else, including (especially) ourselves.
So the next time you feel that desire for something more, that longing for something greater, that hunger for more joy and satisfaction, or a greater thrill, realize that what you are really looking for is the Life that Jesus created you for, and came to give you. It is not in the false places this world offers. It is not in the bottles that contain the world’s kind of “spirits.” It is not in the arms of that pretend lover that really isn’t yours, or on the computer screen or phone that promises cheap thrills. Neither is it in your bank account, or anyone else’s. Or in your home, or in those in Hollywood. And it isn’t in the fame, glitz, recognition, or approval that this world, or your friends, may offer you. It is not in what anyone wears, or what anyone drives, or in what anyone thinks of you. And there is no position or power that can bestow it upon you.
No. The Life that you are looking for is found only in the person of Jesus Christ. Take those cravings back to the One who originated those cravings. He won’t make all your hard days disappear, and He won’t solve your problems, issues, or struggles instantly, but He will walk with you through those hard days, and He will infuse you with His joy and Life, as you walk with Him. He may not save your life, but He will give you Life during this life. He will be your Life that you hunger for. And isn’t that the Life you are really looking for? Trust that He is enough, and that He will come through for you.
6-9-23