Information Related to "Are You Missing Out on Something?"
| Audio/Video |
Are You Missing Out on Something?
Are You Missing Out on Something?
If you're like most people, you have a vague feeling there must be more to life
than meets the eye. Discover how you can find that missing ingredient in your life.
by John Ross Schroeder
We all know the feeling of being left out--not
invited to a party, ignored by the country-club set or shunned by the in crowd. Maybe
we haven't being able to afford a vacation this year, or perhaps we've never achieved
that big career break.
Middle-aged Americans and Canadians may remember George Morgan's popular country-and-western
hit, "Oh, How Close We Were, Almost." We can identify with being
close, but still not quite there--always managing to come up just a little short.
Yet we're usually resilient. We get over the slights and learn to live with our longings.
We live to endure another day.
An unsatisfied lot
But, no matter how comfortably we seem situated, we often want to be somewhere
else doing something different. An actor was so unsatisfied with his life that it
was said he didn't want to be anywhere. Others long to be somewhere over the rainbow,
as the Judy Garland sang in The Wizard of Oz. Another time. Another job. Another
place. Maybe even another marriage partner. The grass is always greener just over
the horizon. We want we know not what.
The wisest of the ancients, King Solomon, observed: "The eye is not satisfied
with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing" (Ecclesiastes 1:8). Whatever we
do in life, it's never quite enough. An undefinable something anxiously and restlessly
tugs at our natures. Some of us turn to drugs and too much alcohol, only to find
they bring only a temporary respite often followed by a huge letdown. Ours is an
anxious and lonely planet for many people. Reality doesn't meet expectations.
British columnist James Hawes observed: "Most of us spend many of our days,
and the odd sleepless Sunday night, in a mixture of vague dissatisfaction with our
work and pay, niggling worries about our relationships and health, and low-level
fear about our jobs and mortgages" (The Independent , Feb. 15, 1997).
Besides our material desires, we have other longings as well. Whether we live relatively
luxuriously or are barely surviving, we yearn for something infinitely more satisfying.
We have needs that can be described only as spiritual--intangible yet real cravings
that nag at our natures.
Solomon also wrote that God "has put eternity in (our) hearts" (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Perhaps that explains some of us attempt to seek out a Shangri-la or fountain
of youth, something in the great somewhere that will forever satisfy our unfulfilled
longings.
Shake hands among yourselves if you feel this way. Such feelings are common to everybody.
The condition
Most of us know we're missing out on something. This is intrinsic to what some
philosophers have called the human condition. Whole areas of understanding are foreign
to our life experiences. Essential spiritual knowledge that would assist us in our
restless quest for some kind of immortality eludes us.
Our world isn't exactly ideal. We have to make our way in a society whose standards
are anywhere from slipping to nonexistent. Ours are lives that breed dissatisfaction.
As the late author Norman Cousins so aptly expressed it: "Much of our ache and
brooding are the results of our difficulty in using ourselves fully. We perform compartmentalized
tasks in a compartmentalized world. We are reined in--physically, socially, spiritually.
Only rarely do we have a sense of fulfilling ourselves through total contact with
a total challenge" (Human Options, 1981, p. 101).
Yet God, who is revealed in the Bible, does not want human beings, whom He made in
His own image, to be dissatisfied for the rest of their lives. He says to dissatisfied
of all generations: "Come for water, all who are thirsty; though you have no
money, come, buy grain and eat; come, buy wine and milk, not for money, not for price.
Why spend your money for that is not food, your earnings on what fails to satisfy?
Listen to me and you will fare well, you will enjoy the fat of the land. Come to
me and listen to my words. Hear me and you will have life" (Isaiah 55:1-3, Revised
English Bible).
We were born not only to look for, but eventually to find, the pearl of great price
(Matthew 13:45-46). But few seem to really discover it. Ponce de León wasn't
the only man not to find the fabled fountain of youth. He has had plenty of company.
Envisioning the future
Some have found the spiritual answers to the human dilemma. Jesus Christ once
said to His disciples, ". . . Many prophets and righteous men desired
to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear
it" (Matthew 13:17).
The prophets of whom Jesus Christ spoke sensed an inkling of the golden age to come.
They knew the One who would ultimately bring it about. They spoke of Him in their
prophecies. However faintly they grasped the full reality, they knew Someone would
come into humanity whose mission would culminate with that great city "whose
builder and maker is God" (Hebrews 11:10). Plainly the Spirit of Christ was
in these Hebrew prophets (1Peter 1:11).
The apostle Paul wrote of "the revelation of the mystery (which was) kept secret
since the world began" (Romans 16:25). The solution to this mystery was not
fully known even to those who diligently sought understanding, much less to those
only mildly curious. Jesus Christ said to His disciples: ". . . It
has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them
(the whole multitude) it has not been given" (Matthew 13:11).
God's plan for everybody
God follows a timetable. He is seldom in as great a hurry as we. His plan calls
for doors of understanding to be opened a little at a time--initially only to a little
flock the Bible terms the firstfruits, then in a future age to come the entire inhabited
world, finally culminating in the removal of spiritual blindness from all who have
ever lived.
But how do you fit into this providential plan? You are reading a magazine
called The Good News. You are a part of a growing family of readers who, for
the most part, seek answers about "the good news," or the gospel message
Jesus brought. Therefore it could be that God is inviting you to become a part of
His Kingdom--with the wonderful opportunity to receive as a gift an indescribable
taste of "the powers of the age to come" (Hebrews 6:5).
Many are caught up in secular activities. They evince little interest in the things
of God and the Bible--and may have to wait for their spiritual opportunities until
a later, better age. But, as the writer of the book of Hebrews said in a different
context, we are confident of better things concerning you (verse 9).
An invitation to the Kingdom
A person's calling to salvation is, of course, God's choice. We on The Good
News staff cannot open your mind or call you to Him. That is strictly God's business
(John 6:44,65) and far beyond our limited powers. But we are asked to make spiritual
knowledge readily and freely available to help sincere inquirers find the truth of
God (Matthew 28:18-20).
We can't tell you everything in one article or even one magazine. That's why the
publishers of The Good News offer many basic booklets to further explain and
spread this precious spiritual knowledge. Perhaps the one that fits this particular
article best is What Is Your Destiny? It explains more fully what is missing
in your life. It's free for the asking, along with the companion booklets The
Gospel of the Kingdom and Making Life Work. To obtain these three vital
publications, please write to the address of our office nearest you. (For a description
of some of our other reader services, please see the announcement at the conclusion
of this article.)
The benefits of knowledge about the age to come are both spiritual and material.
God understands we have physical needs, and it is right to seek what we require in
an honest and godly manner. Consider the example of Jabez, from the line and family
of Judah. The Bible says he "was more honorable than his brothers" (1Chronicles 4:9).
The Hebrew Scriptures tell us little about his life, but we should take careful note
of what God has chosen to reveal. "And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying,
'Oh, that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would
be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain.'
God granted him what Jabez requested" (verse 10). Clearly, Jabez was an honorable
and righteous man.
A leper implored Jesus, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."
Christ's simple, direct answer was, "I am willing; be cleansed" (Matthew 8:2-3). Elsewhere in the Gospels He said, "I have come that they may have life,
and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).
He also told us of spiritual principles we must put first in our lives: "But
seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things (material
necessities) shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33). God is more than willing
to extend His helping hand--often in wonderful ways beyond our human understanding.
Answers are available
The wise founder of a religious college once said to an eager group of students:
"This college is a gold mine, but you'll have to dig for the precious spiritual
knowledge." The Creator wants us to discover His truth. A kind of partnership
exists between God and man.
"Seek, and you shall find," said Jesus Christ. He also said, "Ask,
and it will be given to you" (Matthew 7:7).
The One who made us is more than willing to impart His wondrous truth to the privileged
men and women He is calling. Through the prophet Jeremiah He tells us: "These
are the words of the Lord who made the earth, who formed and established it; the
Lord is his name. If you call to me I shall answer, and tell you great and mysterious
things of which you are still unaware" (Jeremiah 33:2-3, Revised English Bible).
Good News Reader Services
Please feel free to write us with comments or questions about this or any other
article in The Good News. Your query may be answered in booklets such as those
offered above (What Is Your Destiny? and The Gospel of the Kingdom)
or other literature. Our letter answerers will be glad to help you as well. We at
The Good News are anxious to serve our readers.
Also, if you would like to counsel with someone in person about spiritual matters,
the United Church of God has ministers and other representatives in most parts of
the United States and many other areas. They are happy to assist you. Please see
the inside front cover of this magazine for the address of our office nearest you.
© 2000-2022 United Church of God, an International Association
Related Information:
Table of Contents that includes "Are You Missing Out on Something?"
Other Articles by John Ross Schroeder
Origin of article "Are You Missing Out on Something?"
Keywords: Gospel of the Kingdom golden age gospel message
Kingdom of God - gospel of: