There is a spirit of discontent in our generation. We are all looking for some solution to the problem.
We work very hard to get enough money to buy that new car; we have it for a few weeks and then think it is a larger home we need. After many years of much toil and self-sacrifice, the new home is built. It is very beautiful, but it is not long until the discontent settles upon us again and we plan a long vacation.
It takes many years before we realize that the steps we have taken to climb the worldly ladder aren't giving us the joy we expected. Even that promotion at work with its large increase in income and prestige hasn't erased the nagging discontent.
It is very difficult to find the cause of our discontent. We live in a land filled with churches and if they were the answer, we could understand what we must do. In truth, the answer does lie there, but because their message has become so distorted, we have become confused.
Christian terminology is meaningless to many, and is even being used by non-Christian groups to confuse us. Words such as 'born again', 'exorcism' and 'tongues' are also used by Satan-based cults which quote the Bible to their own ends. But Satan quoted scripture to Jesus to throw Him off His real mission in the world, so times have not changed much.
We are hungry people. Like the crowds which pressed toward Jesus that day when He fed the 5,000, we too press toward Him not knowing we do so. It was Jesus the people wanted to hear, and it was Jesus they knew could heal them. It is none other than the resurrected Jesus alive in our world today who can satisfy the deep hunger inside us.
Many years before Jesus was born, Isaiah predicted a child would be born (Isa.7:14) who would be called "Immanuel". Later, Matthew relates how God told Joseph that Mary's child was to be this "Immanuel which means God with us." (Matt.1:23).
History proves the Bible stories; the Bible stories prove history. Even our calendar years date from the birth of Jesus, this being 1996 years since then. The course of history was changed by it, yet we have trouble believing that God Himself took the form of the man who got tired, hungry and experienced suffering on a cross.
When His body was resurrected, He left His Holy Spirit behind as a Counsellor, Comforter, Guide and Teacher--a Holy Spirit, the opposite to the un-holy spirits of the dark world.
John, one of Jesus' disciples and author of the books by that name tells us that the Word (Jesus) was God (John 1:1). Jesus said in His prayer for all believers who would come after Him, "that I myself may be in them"(John 17:26 NIV).
Our human understanding has difficulty comprehending the mystery of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit-- three and yet one. But as we read the Bible and are given the light of His understanding, we realize that Jesus left the world only in a physical sense, but the risen Christ is still present among us! This is the "Immanuel, God with us."
The reason our churches have failed to penetrate our society is their failure to acknowledge this real presence as they meet together. Jesus said, "Where two or three come together in My Name, there am I with them" (Matt.18:20 NIV). Many churches teach this, but do not act as if they believe it. If they truly believed that Jesus is present, many sermons would be scrapped and the worship altered.
Jesus' Spirit will dwell within us if we ask Him. Only then can we be rid of our discontent. He takes away our seeking after worldly goals and gives us new values. He gives more peace and joy than gaining wealth or climbing the social ladder.
© 1999, Doreen Palmer