A Journey to Rest

I am currently sitting on a balcony watching the waves crash along the beach.  You can be jealous if you want.  Vacations are a good thing.  I hope you have the opportunity this summer to get away from work and other worries for a while. 

One thing that has been constantly coming to mind while I have been on vacation the last few days is a quote from Tim Keller I recently saw on Twitter.  “It's popular nowadays to say you're searching, but not so popular to say you've found.”

I tried researching this quote a little to see what context it was originally in, but I had no luck.  It is most likely about how people are often searching to find God, peace, and/or a purpose in life.  In our postmodern world, it is cool to say that you are "spiritual" and you are seeking meaning or a higher power, but it is viewed as unbelievable or self-righteous to say that you have found God. 

Even the most skeptical agnostic would admit that for a person to have a relationship with the creator of the world, if such a being were to exist, the experience would be life-changing.  Many people would rather be on a spiritual journey than see God face to face.  Once we find God, our lives can only be changed -- and we don’t like change.  No one can see God and live; we must die to self.  We would rather say we are searching for God while we are actually just searching for ourselves and what brings us fulfillment. 

Our culture is definitely one of searching.  We are constantly in search of something.  I am currently watching children look for the perfect seashell.  A young man is waiting for the perfect wave to lift him off of his raft and toss him into the air.  The people in the souvenir shop are searching for the one thing that will help them remember the week of vacation or looking for the perfect deal on t-shirts: like buy one for five bucks and get three free.  Just the idea of vacation is about searching; we are looking for rest and relaxation.  We take a journey to get away from our everyday lives. We may go halfway around the world, or we may just not go to work for a few days; it is a vacation of searching.  We search for relaxation, peace, and lasting memories with family and friends.  Sometimes we find what we are looking for, but often when we get back home we are tired and need a vacation from our vacation. 

Some people get obsessed with finding the perfect thing.  A girl may go from store to store to find the perfect dress, think she has found it, wear it once, and then leave it in the closet, forgotten.  A woman may search and search for the perfect man and finally marry him, only to begin to make a list of things to change about him. 

There is a restlessness inside of us; we desire to seek and find joy, purpose, and meaning.  Until we find God, we will never be satisfied, but as the Keller quote points out, there is something in us that just likes the journey.  We are afraid to find out what is at the end of the road; we are afraid to find God.  We would rather be a dog chasing his tail than a child calling out to his father, seeking to rest in his arms. 

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:23 // NIV

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28 // NIV

What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun?  All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.  A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil.  This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat

or find enjoyment?

Ecclesiastes 2:22-25 // NIV