I think we are hard-wired with a desire for a “better place”.  All throughout history, people have been on the move looking for a better place or opportunity.  A chance for a new start, for freedom, prosperity, hope and the list goes on. Ever since we left the garden we have been trying in vain to get back. Could it be the “God shaped vacuum” in all of us, longing for a return ticket?

Since we are created in the image of God, I believe we are out of our natural environment, the one we were created for. Sort of a duck out of water! We have a sense that something is “not right” but we are not quite sure what that is. So, we pursue “a life” looking for happiness and meaning, a place to belong and call home. A destination that fits us to a T, so to speak! Unfortunately, for many of us, no one told us that we would have this longing for a better place. A deep-seated need for Heaven on Earth!  Now, this longing does not just apply to those with wonder-lust but to everyone who is not satisfied with the way things are! To all of us who have said, “why can’t I find happiness, real fulfillment in work and relationship?”

Be honest, at some point in your life you wanted, yearned for something more. I mean it could be something superficial like a new house, car or boat. Sure, the one you have could suffice but…..we say…”It sure would make me happy if I had…. you fill in the blank. Now, this applies to every area of our lives- physical, mental, spiritual, relational and social. We were created for Eden but somehow made a wrong turn and ended up in “God knows where?”!   We end up wanting to super size some part of our existence or ask for the “life upgrade”.

A desire for adventure is at our very core, written on our hearts!   The sad thing, for many of us, is that we have lost all hope of the adventure God designed us for or have settled for a counterfeit. Or, worse yet, was not aware that God had a special adventure designed just for us.

Jeremiah 29:11
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Eph. 2:10 God has made us what we are. He has created us in Christ Jesus to live lives filled with good works that he has prepared for us to do.

2 Tim 1:9- who has saved us and called us to a holy life–not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,

I have heard that ordering a pair of custom shoes specifically designed for your feet is amazing. Just imagine how they would feel on your feet. The saying, “fits like a glove” comes to mind.

Let’s say that a dear friend calls you one day and proceeds to tell you that they want to buy you a custom wardrobe, tailored just for you! Can you imagine how that would make you feel? Pretty special! Right? Well, God has taken this idea, and SUPER-GOD SIZED IT! He has custom designed a full and meaningful life for each of us! He has designed works for us based on our design. Each of our talents and abilities were taken into consideration. I believe that our Loving Creator-Abba Father even took our personalities, likes, dislikes, strengths, and weaknesses into consideration when He prepared the works for us to do.

To me, this not only speaks of His tremendous love for us but also of His power and majesty!  Honestly, these thoughts are not something I can comprehend!

Isaiah 55:8-9 (English Standard Version)
8-For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
9-(A) For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Psalm 8

4what is man that you are mindful of him,

the son of man that you care for him?

5You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

and crowned him with glory and honor.

6You made him ruler over the works of your hands;

you put everything under his feet:

But, I believe we must be careful not expect our lives to be all Rosy based on these and other promises. With any “rose garden” comes thorns, weeds, toil, and the battle of the elements. We must remind ourselves that Eden is not far off and that we can’t expect or try to make this life a “Heaven on earth”!

Pressing on Towards the Goal
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead,

14 I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 12:2

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The apostle Paul followed Jesus’ lead. He knew the game plan and what was in-store for him. We must know what’s ahead, realizing that this abundant life is just a taste of what’s to come!

I believe God wants us to live the life he has for us with “our bags packed”. For we our sojourners, aliens and not permanent residents. We need to live like we have temporary visas, living the full life God has for us but longing for a return to the homeland! For, to steal a famous quote… “there’s no place like home”!

As the apostle Paul said to the Philippians…For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

During the memorial service of my dear friend, of whom I mentioned earlier, the Lord gave me a song to remember her by. It is by Fernando Ortega- Give Me Jesus is the title. Here is the closing verse that sums it up for us!

When I come to die
When I come to die
When I come to die, give me Jesus

Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus,
You can have all this world,
You can have all this world,
You can have all this world,
But give me Jesus

Oh Lord, help me to fix my hearts eyes on you! For only in you do I live and move and have my being! Help me to walk in the design you created just for me. These thought are too wonderful for me! Should I even dare to comprehend!?
Acts 17:25-35 (New International Version)
25-And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26-From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27-God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28-‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

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