Looking for Elsewhere

 Elsewhere is a place for hearts that can never find a belonging. They are always wandering, looking for somewhere that will give them a sense of security. But they will never find it, because what they are really looking for is not out there. 

Driven with this restlessness, a son leaves home. He demanded his share of his father’s inheritance that was coming to him when his father died. Taking his share of his father’s wealth, the son ventures out for elsewhere. 

“And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.” (‭Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭13‬ NKJV)

Relocated, the son enjoys some wild living, he exhausts everything he has on things he didn’t need, on people who didn’t like him, on places he shouldn’t be, with aspirations he will never find in any of them. 

See the thing is, belonging is never where you are. Geography doesn’t give meaning to anyone. It’s not where you are that fulfills you, it’s who you’re with. 

So happens after the son has wasted all his money, that a famine swept in, and he began to starve. He looked for elsewhere to meet his need but he only met rejection. 

Desperation persuaded him to feed pigs which was the epitome of desperation in this ancient culture. He was so hungry that he even craved the slop of the pigs, but not even that would anyone give him.

Sometimes you need to lose what you have to appreciate the value of it. 

“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!” (‭Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭17‬ NKJV)

The son came to his senses and realized his problem was that he was discontented. Everything he needed was at home. 

Somewhere to belong is an ache many of us struggle with. It cries from inside us and we feel it needs to be answered. But it’s lie. It’s just a shade of being discontented with what has become too normal to cope with. It’s an insecurity that my present circumstances will not give me fulfillment. Relocation is a bad thing if it serves a means to escape a feeling of discontentment. 

Feeling that he didn’t deserve the right to be part of the family anymore, he decides to ask his father to take him as a slave. 

“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.” (‭Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭20‬ NKJV)

While he contemplated, his father caught sight of him and with his heart pounding, he ran to his son. He lost nights of rest, he spent days with his eyes over the horizon, looking for his child to come home. 

In his culture, it was improper and bad for old men to run, but this father didn’t care. He wasn’t a whole since his son left. He lost a part of himself that if it return, he was not going to let anything keep him from getting it back. 

He ran on air until the father broke his son’s standing, throwing him into his chest. His son muffled his speech inside his father, but his father wasn’t listening. 

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.” Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭22-24‬ NKJV)

The son returned home finding all that he recklessly looked for was right under his nose. The son like many of us was ungrateful. He imagined love, acceptance and joy would be among a different group of warm bodies. But true love was right around him, waiting for him and merry when he got home. 

Sometimes, to have what you want, you have to want what you have. 

Elsewhere is somewhere that takes you anywhere because it’s nowhere. 

Where you need to be and where you actually want to be is around those you do love you. Being human sometimes causes us to disregard that. But where you belong sometimes is who you are with. 

Be grateful. 

Still long way off for some of you, there is a God Who’s heart is pounding, waiting for you to come to Him (or even come back to Him). He is anxious for to hear your voice, to feel your presence, to know you are His. There is no distance to His love for long ago He said: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.” (‭Jeremiah‬ ‭31‬:‭3‬ NKJV). He won’t relent until He has you. He will wait until the sun sits under the sky and when it rises again for you to find Him. 

Let God love you. 

Finding Perfect

Maybe you have read the verse in Philippians (Phil 4:11) which Paul says that whatever state he’s in, he is content. Sounds great, but I honestly suffer from time to time to be happy where I am.

I want to finish college. I want to be living on the sea again (I once lived on a ship). I want to live at home. I want to be married. I enjoy being single. Joy seems to roll back and forth like waves in the sea on the bank.

But sometimes the life we want will disarray us from the life that we should value.

(Photo by Colton Bennett)

Jesus told the story of young man who was discontent living under the umbrella of his father. He roughly demanded his immediate share of his inheritance, uprooted his presence at home and moved into the city.

He was finally on his own. Feeling so muddled living at home, he wanted to find his own perfect place. He was tired living a life seemly like a script written for some one else.

The Bible says: “And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living”. (Luke 15:13)

He jumped at opportunity and seized the life he so wished to enjoy. He finally arrived! But his life turned for the worse, and he found himself at the pig sty, longing to fill his stomach with the pods of the pigs.

Jesus said, “he came to himself, he said, How many of my fathers hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father” (Luke 15:17-18).

The young man looked for a perfect life, but the best life he could enjoy on earth was right under his nose.

Enjoy life you have. It may be the best there is.

I Have It Good

A valuable moment in life is when you are reminded to be grateful. I was in Neumünster, Germany, serving at Cafe Jerusalem. Cafe Jerusalem was a coffee shop where the hungry could come and receive a free warm meal and also hear about the Bread of Life -Jesus Christ.

I came with some friends of mine to volunteer for a day at the cafe. As I rotated between waiting people and washing dishes, I was constantly meeting broken people with broken stories. Unemployed. Imprisoned.  Homeless. Addicted – all of them consumed with an idea of hopelessness for life.

This led me to think about how good my life is and how great God has blessed me. I stop thinking about how much I would love American peanut butter and began thanking God for His goodness to me.

Look around. You can see enough where you live you are living better than someone else. Take time today and thank Jesus for all that He has given you.

Haiti & God’s Daily Bread

You know I’m thankful for God’s daily provision of food. My heart breaks whenever I look at the people in Haiti suffer from the cholera outbreak. Over 300 people have died so far and the cause of this disease is just contaminated water! The sad thing is a resource like water is something we constantly take for granted.

“Who (God) gives food to all flesh, for His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 136:25). Your “daily bread” is a precious gift from God. He sends the rain and made the seas that supplies your tap every single day. Be thankful to Him and bless His name.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Thanksgiving is that time of year where we are thankful for the things we usually take for granted. On this eve of Thanksgiving, I have been mediating on Job 1.

Job has reached the ultimate pitfall in his life. He has experienced the loss of all his wealth (which was in cattle in those days), loss of many of his workers and the loss of all his children all in one day!!

But listen to Job’s response, “And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Did you hear what I hear? At a time of great loss, Job blessed God. My common repulse in trial is to stress and then whine and complain to God. Instead of Job “cursing God and die” like his wife suggested, he thanked the Lord in his trial.

Do you think you and I can come to the place being grateful to God not just in the good times but also in the stormy, difficult circumstances where we are just overwhelmed by everything around going wrong?

Job’s attitude was an expression of trust. He knew that he was not being judged of sin for Job 1:1 says he was a man who feared God and shunned evil. I believe he thanked God because he knew God sincerely loved him and what he was facing he knew the God who saw the over the good in his life, was also there in his deep distress.

This Thanksgiving, can we look at our life and see a difficulty where we can praise God? Not thanking God for the trial, but thanking Him in it knowing He’s watching and that He never leaves us nor forsakes us (Heb 13:5).