by God's Little Boy
© MakeshiftDarkroom.com 2011
Posted 12/26/11

My wife and I had been living in our new home for nearly one year before we had finally finished getting my office in order. With the furniture in place, books on the shelf, and desktop organized I sat in the chair at my desk….. And there it was again….. that feeling of impermanence; the realization that as nice as it was to have my own office, I could not keep it for very long. I couldn’t really settle into it and fully own it. Like everything else in this temporal life, it was not forever, it would soon pass away. I questioned within myself why I should feel this way, and then, I quickly realized that deeply instilled within my heart was a longing for the eternal.

In our present state, we know that we cannot keep this life or the things we have – though we would like to. We long for a sense of secure and unchanging permanence. This is because God has set eternity in our hearts.* (Ecclesiastes 3:11) Disappointment and dissatisfaction in this life is really a yearning for that which we were truly made for; it is a longing, in our hearts, for heaven. We have been made for the world that is to come – the lasting world that God has set in our hearts.* We have been made for eternity; where all of our hopes and desires will be completely fulfilled forever in the person, presence, and full manifestation of Jesus Christ. It is there, where we will keep him, and all the things that he has for us to freely enjoy forever.

Without God in our life, we are left with a void in our heart. We were not made to be empty and unfulfilled; man cannot bear this. And so, man seeks after anything and everything that might bring him pleasure and fulfillment. The pursuit of pleasure alone, is the result of man’s misplaced longings. Sinful man is easily carried away by the pleasures of this life and brought to ruin. His sinful nature can scarcely handle pleasure. Just as too much candy rots the teeth and sickens the body, too many illegitimate pleasures, can destroy the soul and shipwreck one's faith. "Have you found [pleasure sweet like] honey? Eat only as much as is sufficient for you, lest, being filled with it, you vomit it." (Proverbs 25:16 Amplified)  Hedonism, which is the pursuit of pleasure as the only good, serves only to lead men further away from God, his truth, and a life of true fulfillment and godly virtue.

It is not pleasure itself that is the problem; it is man’s fallen nature and evil heart that is the problem. Pleasure, in the purest sense, is a good thing that is given by the hand of God. If you think about it, we have actually been made for pleasure. We have been hardwired for it. When we pray we ask God for good things such as strength, health, provision, and fruitfulness; we do not ask for tribulation, distress, or sickness (although God does skillfully use these things in our life). We have been wired with a desire for things to go right, for things to be well, and good, and pleasant. And so it will be when we, who have trusted Christ, shall enter into the joy of his eternal kingdom. At his right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11) Until that glorious day comes and the redemption of man is fully complete, pleasure must be had in its proper place and measure.

Have you been living life without God? Are you chasing after the things that will not last? Have you chosen the pursuit of pleasure over and above the true fulfillment of a personal relationship with the Son of God? If so, you are heading toward great loss. In your desperate efforts to find something besides God, you will ultimately lose everything without him. In Christ we may eternally enjoy all good things; without Christ all expectation will perish forever. (Proverbs 10:28b) If this life teaches us anything, it teaches us that there is really no lasting fulfillment in anything outside of a relationship with the Everlasting Father, who inhabits eternity.

“For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” (2 Corinthians 5:1-5 NIV)

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36)

Come to Christ, who only has immortality, that he may give you what your heart is truly crying out for.

* KEIL-DELITZSCH Commentary on the Old Testament Vol. 6 Ecclesiastes p.260-262

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