If I didn’t know Jesus, I would probably wonder what is wrong with me. You see, I want more. I’m not speaking of riches or fame. I’m speaking of time.
If I didn’t know Jesus, I would always wonder why I am on this Earth for such a short time.
My heart is restless for more. This short life just doesn’t seem like enough, and I’d never know the true reason why I felt that way – if I didn’t know Jesus.But I do! I do know Jesus, so I’ve discovered why I’m restless for more. I’ve found the answer in the Scriptures: God has put eternity in our hearts.[1] Now I know the reason I want more time: I wasn’t made for just this life – for just this brief time. I was made for more. I was made for eternity!
We are a people who want more – a long, extended, healthy life. We love to think of a place such as Shangri-La. Oh how I love the old movie, Lost Horizon, where Ronald Colman is strategically brought to beautiful Shangri-La and meets Jane Wyman. It’s a land of sparkling pure rivers flowing from mountains above and of fertile green valleys. Perfect climate. People live long lives. Disease or injury heals naturally. It’s nearly perfect. If I didn’t know Jesus, I would want something like that.
People have always looked for extended life in one form or another. A myth tells the story of Ponce de Leon, an explorer who searched for and found the Fountain of Youth, which is now thought to be in St. Augustine, Florida. Yet there are no records that anyone actually regained their youth by drinking of the water from that fountain.
People have always been desperate for healing. There was a pool called Bethesda, in Jerusalem’s old city where people went for healing. We read about it in John, Chapter 5. The lame, the paralyzed, the disabled, lay on mats near the water – day after day – month after month – year after year. The belief was that an angel would come at times and stir the waters and the first person to step into those waters was healed. This had been going on for hundred of years before Jesus’ time. My heart goes out to those people. They were like you and me. Desperate for more.
~ Without Jesus, we are those desperate people.
~ Without Jesus, we lay and wait.
~ Without Jesus, we look for hope in myths or unfounded beliefs.
~ Without Jesus, we are alone, as the man we read about in John, Chapter 5 – a man who had been an invalid for 38 years …
– until Jesus sees him.
Jesus heals the man on the spot. He also forgives the man’s sins and says, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”
The man goes away and tells people what Jesus has done for him.
~ With Jesus, we are no longer desperate.
~ With Jesus, we find forgiveness and healing.
~ With Jesus, we have hope that is confident expectation.
~ With Jesus, we are never alone.
He saw me in my brokenness. He lifted me from the filthy mat I’d been laying on. He forgave my sins. I followed Him, and now I have the promise of abundant life[2] here in my time on Earth and of eternal life.
Jesus sees you. He wants to draw you out of your desperation. He wants you to take up your mat,[3] leave your myths and your misplaced hopes, and follow Him. He wants to heal you and forgive your sins.
When you do, you’ll tell people what Jesus has done for you.
And it doesn’t take a pool of stirred water, a Fountian of Youth, or a Shangri-La.
It just takes a Risen Savior!
[1] Ecclesiastes 3:11b
[2] John 10:10
[3] John 5:8