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Act 4: The Kingdom Restored
Brian Mashburn
March 1, 2009
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Act 4: The Kingdom Restored
Think about everything you love about this life. All the things that are true, that are beautiful, that stir your spirit with joy, that you can't get enough of...aren't they the things that make your heart long for more.
Think about everything you hurt over in this life. All that you suffer from, or have been wounded by...aren't they the things that make your heart long for something different?
Think about the great pursuit of our time: the pursuit for our own comfort and convenience. Whether a person picks up this pursuit by means of having more money, more power, more efficiency, more fame, or more influence, doesn't matter. All who finally achieve it, after a little bit of indulgence in it, are left longing for something different....something better.
We humans seem trapped in a life of never getting it just the way we want it. The way it feels like we need it. The way it seems we were designed for it. Have you ever stopped to ask why?
This common human experience is evidence of a truth that is far too neglected, far too often forgotten, even by Christians. The statement by Paul that we are "aliens and strangers in the world" is pointing us to rather unbelievable, but glorious and satisfying truth...
This life isn't all there is.
Deep down, we all hope that this is true. And of all the great stories, it is the story of God that dares to proclaim that the deep secret desire of our heart, the desire to live life to the full for all of eternity, will be met.
The writer of Hebrews says that the aliens and strangers on the earth were the ones "longing for a better country-a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." (Heb. 11:16)
No wonder we are so unsatisfied with this life. No wonder the trials make us angry and sad. No wonder the adventures of love and beauty seem fleeting and come all too infrequently. God has set eternity in our hearts (Eccl. 3:11). We were made for it in Eden. We are promised it in Heaven. For those who follow Christ, so the story goes, He will lead us across the finish line to the beginning.