We were made for so much more…

The popular Christian group Switchfoot—released a song aptly titled, “Meant to Live” several years back. The song was a huge success for the group, both on the Christian airwaves, but also on the Modern Rock chart. Needless to say, the song help propel the album “The Beautiful Letdown” to platinum status, earning rave reviews. I love ‘Meant to Live’—and a couple of the lines actually describes our journey in life: “we want more than this world has got to offer…we were meant to live for so much more, have we lost ourselves.” I am a huge fan of C. S. Lewis, (not sure if you knew that, but…it’s true), and Lewis made a decisive argument in his masterpiece, Mere Christianity, about desire. Lewis basically asserts that innate in all of us is a desire for something else, (see esp. Book III, Hope). At any rate, one could also make an argument that part of ‘being made for so much more’ is that we were made for relationships as well. One look at the Trinity, and one can safely conclude that prior to the creation of the earth, and all of its entailments, God the creator existed in community. The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit! That explains why God throughout the history of man, yearns for a relationship with man. During the Old Testament period, God endeared himself to the Israelites, while Jesus during his ministry surrounded himself with people. The apostles invigorated the need for salvation, impressed upon by Jesus, (individually), in order to be a part of a collective body of believers (church). Throughout the medieval period, the renaissance and reformation, all the way to the restoration period to our time—there has never been a time in the history of the church, where man was saved to be alone. This yearning for relationship and the nonsensical of the notion that is very popular in American culture, individualism, is captured most amazingly by Beth Moore. Says Moore:

“God created us to need something or someone else. Sooner or later, any healthy individual discovers that autonomy doesn’t cut it. Once we confront our need for someone or something beyond ourselves, we will subsist on the alms of others if we don’t discover Christ. Like beggars we go from person to person with our empty cup, crying, “Can’t you add anything to my life?” They might throw in a coin or two. In fact, a few may be weekly…and probably weary…tithers. But when we shake the cup daily, the tiny echo reminds us how empty we remain. Until we allow Jesus to fill our cups daily, we simply subsist. The good news Christ may want to preach to you today is that you don’t have to subsist. You were meant to thrive.” (Beth Moore, Jesus the One and Only, 52).

Stirring words indeed. Moore is spot on with her assessment; we will make it on the kindness of other people. But for how long? One cannot know for sure. So what is the answer then? The answer lies in the person of Jesus Christ. To have Christ in one’s life, will exonerate us from the tortures of everyday living—to a life so beautiful and meaningful, in the person of Christ. Within this framework one will ultimately discover the reason behind creation, and consequently, man. We weren’t created to simply exist, we were meant for so much more. Do you believe you were made for so much more? Blessings.