Engines

Inspired once again by CS Lewis

In our previous post, we had a discussion for another day. Well it turns out today is that day! We discovered that God created us with the capacity to fulfilled, but what fulfills us?

Well, I can't think of a good way to start this, so we'll start off with a statement to think about:

Our quest for fulfillment drives most (if not all) of our decisions, and most of the time, this quest brings us to places that ultimately can't fulfill us.

TIMEOUT

I know at this point you're probably skeptical. We don't make decisions with something in the back of our mind saying "this will fulfill me". For example, you realize that a partier doesn't say, "I'm going to get wasted tonight because I know it will fulfill me". And that is definitely true. We don't specifically say, "I'm going to do X for my fulfillment", but we do say, "I'm going to do X because it's fun!" Many of the things we do are in the name of fun, enjoyment, and happiness. In other words, many of the things we do are in the name of satisfaction. Uh oh, doesn't that mean many of the things we do are in the name of fulfillment?

With that said, let's ask a few questions. Why do some of us spend a weekend partying to get so drunk that we can't remember anything? Why do some of us eagerly await the next one night stand with a near stranger? More subtly, why do workaholics sacrifice their families in their drive for success? Why do guys watch a terrible TV show just to oggle at a hot actress? Why does Alice hinge all of her happiness on her relationship with Phil?

Yep, unfortunately the answer is we are looking for fulfillment. Whether we are experiencing the fun of a party, the "score" of a one night stand, the thrill of a promotion, lustful fantasies, a significant other, or any other thing of this world, we do most of what we do to satisfy ourselves.

Alright, so now that we do these things in search of satisfaction, we need to figure out if these things actually satisfy us. Well I'll ask a few more questions. Can Phil really meet all of Alice's needs 100% of the time? When the guys' TV show ends, do they desire seeing less of the actress or more? When the workaholic reaches vice president, do they stop or work more to attain president? Does a one night stand bring one to a satisfying relationship or a desire for more one night stands? Finally, does an awesome party leave one desiring a break or more awesome parties?

I think you see the point. The funny thing about all of these things is that pursuing them for fulfillment leads to pursuing them for more fulfillment. Life becomes a sea of dissatisfaction sprinkled with small pockets of temporary satisfaction.

Well crap. God created us with this gap, and we can't fill it. This could bring us to despair, but the amazing thing is that He's given us the answer. I could try to explain this, but CS Lewis explains it much better than any of my attempts:

"God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."

In other words, trying to fulfill ourselves with something of this world is like trying to run an engine on carrot juice. God made us so that we will sputter and break down apart from Him. Even better, God made us so we will run immaculately when we pursue Him for satisfaction. Life now becomes a sea of fulfillment and peace.

Ah, so we've answered our original question! God fulfills us and nothing else.

To be continued...

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