I must first confess, this is a re-post from an old blog of mine that I used to write, but I really liked it so thought I'd put it here. However, I must also announce, that yes, I am still here! I decided to take a second year with Sion Youth and the challenges and joys that that involves. Furthermore, enjoy my (slightly old) thoughts...
One of the things about my spiritual life that I enjoy is being able to make connections. Particularly slightly odd connections involving Christianity and popular culture. This is where Bastille comes in. After listening to the lyrics to the song Flaws I have decided that I find it's meaning, particularly the line mentioned above extremely relevant to my past experiences and the search to find real joy in life. There's a hole in my soul.
In my personal experience I've found this to be true. In the past I've tried, and seen others try, to fill this hole with just about everything earthly. But nothing earthly can satisfy, in fact CS Lewis said that 'The fact that our heart yearns for something Earth can't supply is proof that Heaven must be our home.' This is why I think people without faith struggle to find any meaning in their lives and so try to insert meaning into it, by distracting themselves in so many ways. Video games, TV, magazines, celebrities etc. and also the darker side to life; addictions for example, seem at least to me to stems from an attempt to fill the hole in our souls. It pains me to see so many people still struggling on in this way though and the mere fact that so many people don't even realise there is something worth striving for that it so much greater than ourselves is a great cause for concern.
It is precisely this problem, that we fail to see the bigger picture, that is at the root of much of our unhappiness as a culture. To have meaning, our lives must have a sure goal in mind. If we have no goal then our lives just become a bunch of actions and re-actions. But my goal, and the goal of all Christians, is heaven. Heaven, being the ultimate fulfillment of our desires and thus the filling of the hole in my soul.
I'm not entirely sure if I managed to capture the exact point of what my thoughts on this song were, but hopefully you get the essence of my meaning. That the fulfillment of our earthly desires can only come through Jesus. To many Christians reading this, it might sound obvious, but I found that when I eventually decided to apply this to my every day life it made me want to change things as I realised that nothing, no person, no job or qualification, no object, no food. Nothing earthly would make me happy. It was only when I came to understand Psalm 37:4 a little more that I realise where my ultimate fulfillment lies:
'Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your HEART.'
In my personal experience I've found this to be true. In the past I've tried, and seen others try, to fill this hole with just about everything earthly. But nothing earthly can satisfy, in fact CS Lewis said that 'The fact that our heart yearns for something Earth can't supply is proof that Heaven must be our home.' This is why I think people without faith struggle to find any meaning in their lives and so try to insert meaning into it, by distracting themselves in so many ways. Video games, TV, magazines, celebrities etc. and also the darker side to life; addictions for example, seem at least to me to stems from an attempt to fill the hole in our souls. It pains me to see so many people still struggling on in this way though and the mere fact that so many people don't even realise there is something worth striving for that it so much greater than ourselves is a great cause for concern.
It is precisely this problem, that we fail to see the bigger picture, that is at the root of much of our unhappiness as a culture. To have meaning, our lives must have a sure goal in mind. If we have no goal then our lives just become a bunch of actions and re-actions. But my goal, and the goal of all Christians, is heaven. Heaven, being the ultimate fulfillment of our desires and thus the filling of the hole in my soul.
I'm not entirely sure if I managed to capture the exact point of what my thoughts on this song were, but hopefully you get the essence of my meaning. That the fulfillment of our earthly desires can only come through Jesus. To many Christians reading this, it might sound obvious, but I found that when I eventually decided to apply this to my every day life it made me want to change things as I realised that nothing, no person, no job or qualification, no object, no food. Nothing earthly would make me happy. It was only when I came to understand Psalm 37:4 a little more that I realise where my ultimate fulfillment lies:
'Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your HEART.'