The January sales are on with a vengeance. The other evening, television news showed scenes outside a large department store. As soon as the doors opened there was a mad headlong stampede towards the bargains, sweeping all aside in it's wake. A fight broke out with one of the attendants who was trying to keep some sort of order. There was a life and death struggle at one of the counters and a woman emerged from the scrum clutching several designer handbags.
We may smile, but could this be an illustration of what it's like in the world today? A headlong hedonistic pursuit of pleasure, trying to find satisfaction in material things and anything else to gratify the inner longing. I'm reminded of the old Rolling Stones smash hit, "I can't get no, I can't get no, I can't get no satisfaction, no satisfaction, no satisfaction, no satisfaction." The truth is, that without Jesus, we will be dissatisfied deep down.
It's often when our dissatisfaction bubbles to the surface, when we've tried everything else, that we turn to Jesus. It's then that we discover there is absolutely nothing to compare with this love relationship that satisfies our deepest need. This is the start of a lifelong relationship where both sides have a growing desire to draw closer to each other. However, it's not long before the world comes knocking at the door of our minds, with the temptation to be taken over with the love of material things and pleasure-seeking that gets in the way of intimacy with Him.
Let us thank God for all the good that we enjoy, but ensure that our real satisfaction always comes from knowing Jesus.
"Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." John 6:35 Jeremiah 9:23-24 New International Version
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