The Quest

The first interview of Mick Jagger that I ever heard left an indelible impression on my mind. It was a phone-in show, and one fan asked Mick, since he had already achieved and attained so much, what else did he want out of life? Mick fumbled for a response before replying a bit cynically, "The moon?"

Now, I am not about to speculate on Mick Jagger's state of mind, whether he be jaded, self-satisfied, or otherwise, but his answer is cause to pause and reflect. How must the great icons and celebrities really feel in the unknown, inner recesses of their heart? When you reach the top, when you have so much money the subject bores you, when you have accumulated all the toys, when you are pop icon, when you have people hanging on breathlessly to your every word, when you can have all the sex you want with anybody you want, when you can have more booze and dope than your body can stand, what else is left? Where are you going to get your next big high? What do you do for thrills and chills? And most importantly, where do you find daily satisfaction and contentment?

Reading People Weekly, and other stargazers, I am left to ponder just how many of those people reported upon are completely jaded. How many of them have reached the top and found out that it is horribly dissatisfying? How many of them are mashing and crashing from one thing to the next hoping to find something, anything, to fill their inner void? Or, worse, how many have accepted their inner emptiness as chronic and incurable?

Well, there is a cure for the incurable. It is God. Himself. No one or nothing else will suffice.

(I know, I know, you just knew that was coming.)

God, the Infinite, the Eternal, the Transcendent, is the One Who puts the joy in living and keeps it there. By His very nature, He is the Perpetual Novelty when you have experienced everything life has to offer. He is the source, the fountainhead of joy. That is why we are told to make Him the ultimate quest in life, and not pleasure itself. Chasing the tributaries of a river usually only leads to a quagmire. Just so with life: make life, or any one facet of life, your pursuit, and you will most certainly end up in a stinking, miserable bog. But if you make it your goal to possess the source of life and pleasure, you'll find that your joy will never fade nor will the supply run dry.

That's all well and good, you say, but just how does one go about possessing God? The answer to that is found in verse 11 of Psalm 16, "Thou wilt show me the path of life, "said King David, "In thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures forever more." That phrase "at thy right hand" refers to being in right standing or right relationship, in a place of favor. Therefore we conclude that we come into possession of perpetual novelty when we stand in right relationship with God - when our sins are forgiven and when we are living the way He has prescribed for His creation. (Hey, after all, He is God - He does have the right to make the rules, doesn't He?) It makes a lot of sense if you think about it. How could we possibly think to disregard the blueprint of the Master Architect and still have a sound building? You may as well cut a river off from it's source and expect it to keep running.

Oh, you reply, perhaps with a condescending smile, that is just so typically Christian..., and you haven't even proved that God exists or that He is the Master Architect of life. Point taken; I plan to discuss that in the future, but for now, let me leave you with this thought about the above formula for joy:

It works.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good." Do you always have to prove the pudding exists, or that it's a good pudding before you taste it?

If you haven't already, I hope you'll make God your quest.
Pastor Chelle