I was sick a week or so ago and since I did not feel like doing anything I ended up watching 22 episodes of the TV show from last year, Once Upon A Time! I obviously enjoyed it since I watched them all. As I watched there was a moment in one episode (I have been trying to find it again, but after 2 solid days and 22 episodes it's all a little fuzzy!) Henry, the little boy who believes that the people in his town of Storybrooke are fairy tale characters but don't remember who they are because of a curse, is asked by an adult why he believes this is true. Henry answers with something like this - " Because I know that there has to be more than this."
As I thought about Henry's statement, it reminded me of a book that I have been reading lately called, Forever: Why We Can't Live Without It. I would like to share some thoughts from that book that I have found to be helpful. Paul David Tripp says that we are all hardwired for eternity. It's that yearning that we all have that we can't really explain but we long for something more. Although we may have eternity inside of us, because God put it there (Ec 3:11-He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart), we live as if we have, as he calls it, "eternity amnesia".
He gives several consequences of this amnesia. One of those consequences is that we don't have realistic expectations of what this world should be. We act as if this is all there is instead of the preparation for where we are going. How easy it is to get so wrapped up in our lives and our schedules and our plans that we forget to even think about God's plan and the future that He has mapped out for us.
Another consequence is that we become too self centered. We don't look at the big picture- eternity, and Who is really in charge and Who is really the center of everything. And it is not us! Another result affects our relationships because we want other people to be more and give us more than they can give and we end up very discouraged and disappointed. No one can be or do what only God can do and be. Don't we want people to act like God and supply all we need and want? We desire these wonderful and fulfilling relationships and we expect others to be all we need and they just can't do it.
We so want to have the peace that only God can give and that we will only have perfectly in eternity that we either try to control our lives or we live in fear. The longings that we have don't mean that we are missing out on life (which we tend to think) but that we were meant for a different life somewhere else.
All our unrealistic expectations can also lead us to question God's character- is He really good? If we don't understand that He has a perfect plan and that we don't know what that is we will surely be disappointed in this life full of suffering and trial and when we continue to be disappointed we will end up with little motivation and little hope.
And last of all, if we don't keep our eyes on eternity, then we will live life as if there are no consequences. I have seen that lately in my own life. I realized that in a lot of areas of my life I don't think that I will suffer the consequences of my actions, whatever they may be. For example, I got botox shots in my hands because I was tired of them sweating all the time. The doctor told me that it might make the muscles in my hands relax and I could have trouble holding things or picking up things. Did I believe that it would happen to me? Absolutely not! Did it? Absolutely it did and is still not back to normal. ( I am not sure that the side effects are worth the dry hands!) It happens all the time different areas in our life - I eat too much thinking that I won't gain weight, I drive too fast :) thinking that I won't get a ticket... We all have areas in our lives that we live as if we can do whatever we want and nothing will happen to us.
As I have continued to read this book, I am praying that God will help me to remember the big picture. This is not all there is, He has a plan, and it is not necessarily my plan, but it is good and only He can satisfy my deepest longings now and in eternity.
