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October 6, 2007

God is Better Than a Chic Flick

by Shana Schutte

Millions of people, including myself, love chic flicks--movies in which the man sweeps the woman off her feet and they live together in a utopia of love without worries, woes or emotional pain. There are no fights over who will scrub the toilet, why their son got a "D" in math, or if they'll have enough money at the end of the month.

I'm not surprised about the popularity of these movies. Why? Because they speak deeply to a part of us that longs for the perfect life we were originally created for, before sin entered the world.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, "He [God] has also set eternity in the hearts of men..." The word eternity in the original Old Testament language is owlam and partially means, "what is hidden or concealed." God is saying that everyone--everywhere--aches for something they can't find. For this reason, they're not completely satisfied--and that's exactly how God wants it to be.

Does it seem like a cruel joke that He would create a deep desire for something in you, but make what you long for impossible to discover? God didn't mean to be unkind--He wants to use the dissatisfaction you feel to draw you to Himself. Can you imagine if He hadn't placed this longing for something more in your heart? You would never have a reason to run to Him; so you would also never find the joy that comes from knowing Him intimately.

I'm grateful that God sometimes gives us a reprieve from the ache of dissatisfaction. For me, it's often lessened when I spend time with Him. These moments are better than any chick flick.

"Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare." Isaiah 55:2 (NIV)

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