SOMETHING GREATER

Hebrews 11:10 “For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”

I read a story about a man who was dying. He asked his Christian doctor to tell him what was waiting for him on the other side. The doctor struggled to think of something. Just then, his dog, which he had locked in the basement, began to scratch at the door. And the doctor told the man; I never let my dog in here. He has never been inside this room. And yet, he is scratching eagerly at the door. Why? Because, he knows that I’m here in this room. And the same is true of heaven. We don’t know exactly what waits for us there. We may have descriptions and ideas, but our minds aren’t even capable of comprehending it. Yet we ought to yearn and desire to go there. Why? Because we know that Christ is there.

This story rings true, not only of our final destination in heaven, but also of every stop along the way. No matter what our course in life, be it storm or calm, peace or trouble, sickness or health, no matter what we go through, we can look forward to tomorrow with joy, because we know that Christ will be there with us. Surely he is the one who said, Hebrews 13:5, “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." (NKJV)

When you look at the story of Abraham leaving his home in Genesis you’ll notice something. Wherever Abraham goes, God meets with him. And I’m sure that this was a big part of the reason that Abraham was able to venture into the unknown. He wasn’t going alone, but God was going with him.

The other reason that Abraham was willing to live in a tent and not make a permanent home is that he knew God’s plan was always greater than his own. He didn’t want to settle for this old world. He wouldn’t settle for the pleasures, and wealth, and security of this life for one reason: he knew there was something better. He knew that he would be foolish to sell out for so little. Not that this world has nothing to offer at all. Sometimes this world seems grand. It is, after all, the handiwork of God. But it pales in comparison to what is ahead.

This life, especially our life in Christ, is much more grand than when we were dead in our sins. However, it’s only the gateway. The next world holds beauty and grandeur that is up to now incomprehensible to us. We can become convinced that things like wealth, and fame, and power, and knowledge, or anything else in this world is the climax of our existence. However, we would be selling ourselves short. It isn’t that we give up and forsake this world, and miss out on something. On the contrary, we reject the pull of this world, only because we know that something far greater waits for us on the other side. The great author and thinker C.S. Lewis said, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” And this is precisely the thing we must realize. We were not made for this world alone. And the things that we need to have true satisfaction are not found in this world. This world cannot bring us fulfillment, because we were not designed to be fulfilled in this world. We must look for something more than this world has to offer. We must look for something we can never find here. At that fulfillment will only come when our focus is not on this world, but on the next. And then we will find not only fulfillment for this life, but the life to come. When we understand the purpose for this life as a journey, it becomes so much easier to find joy in all circumstances, because we know it’s not here forever. We, like Abraham must look for the city whose builder and maker is God.