Calling me a coffee connoisseur would be a definite misnomer. I like coffee, nothing flavored, frothy, or sweet, just coffee either black or with a little milk or cream. When I was a little girl, I drank coffee with my grandparents, more milk than coffee, served in a cup just like the ones Grandmother and Granddad used. Granddad Great often sat with us. I was little Miss Big Pants sitting at the kitchen table with them, a baby doll in my lap having my morning coffee solving the world's problems in the way only a child can. Time fades some memories, but like so many other precious memories of my grandparents, that one remains.
Whether it was my maternal grandparents or my paternal grandparents, I liked being in their homes and in their kitchens. Each place was as different as the people residing there. Still, I find comfort in the memory of all my grandparents and spending time in their homes. I do not remember ever drinking coffee with my paternal grandparents, but I did drink lots of freshly squeezed lemonade sweetened with Grandma’s homemade simple syrup. When I grew older, I discovered Grandma's strongly brewed, unsweetened iced tea. Frosty beverages were necessary refreshments for my hard-working Grandma and Grandpa who were industrious caregivers of their extensive garden and the many fruit trees providing them and others with some sustenance for the colder months ahead.
When I think of my grandparents on both sides of the family tree, I remember strength and goodness. I recall helping hands and giving hearts. I see diligent, determined spirits, and strong faith in God. They communicated the truth exactly as it was, not as they wanted it to be. They knew pain and sorrow, but their lives were, nonetheless, an outward expression of the joy and deep satisfaction residing within each of them. My grandparents were ordinary people, but in them, I witnessed the extraordinary lives of men and women who understood so much of what the world and those of it try to erase from our memories today. They exemplified strong moral values. They understood living in the world but not being of it. They knew how to roll up their sleeves, get to work and face the realities of life in an imperfect world among imperfect people striving every single day to be the people God created them to be. I never heard them talk about their neighbors nor covet the possessions of others; rather, they seemed genuinely happy when good things happened to those they knew, and they saw those with whom they disagreed not as their enemies but simply as individuals who viewed the world differently than they. They took the time to listen and to understand, and whether they agreed or disagreed, if someone needed them, they were there to lend a hand and help make the lives of others better.
I saw in my grandparents what doing one’s best, being one’s best and taking responsibility for who we are and whom we become looks like whether we like what we are doing or whether we are in the place we want to be in life or not. They held no distorted view of the world and understood what many have forgotten today—God puts us in circumstances, in places and in situations, amid people with whom we agree and disagree, in families, neighborhoods, churches, schools, jobs, and all the rest for His purpose, not to live out some personal fairytale. The Bible says, “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14, emphasis mine).
We do see ourselves as royal creatures, splendid in every way. We crown ourselves kings of our kingdoms and queens over our domains. We raise little princes and princesses to do the same. The world's crowning glory goes to all those who find their personal truth and live it. Each day across social media platforms those of the world receive their crowns. We either watch in awe or in terror as the mainstream media does the same. Yes, the wolves in sheep's clothing walk among us, but make no mistake, God sees both those who are of the world, chosen and royal, and those who are of Him, chosen and royal.
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9, emphasis mine). We might forget whose we are, but God does not. Whether we want to admit it or not, we are all rather ordinary people. We only become chosen and royal and our seeking deep satisfaction ceases when we choose God and His eternal kingdom. We are His creation. We belong to Him. In this there is no wiggle room. Test that if you want; however, in the end, there will be no compromise, no carpet trade, no striking a last-minute deal. We must tear down every idol and abdicate our thrones to Him now while there is still time. All that we are, all that we do, must be for God's glory.
We live in a Sodom and Gomorrah world where every evil and willful desire is given a pass. With sin normalized, the demands to change biblical truth to fit whatever lifestyle we adopt increase. When things do not work according to our plan, we either blame our own failures on God or on someone or something else. If it feels good, we give ourselves permission to do it without regard to the consequences of our actions. We live in a society of quick fixes with momentary satisfaction fueling our muddled, disordered, frenzied lives. The world is a mess, and yet, we do what pleases us, not what pleases God looking to the world and those of it for the answers we seek. Our endless search for satisfaction, comfort, ease, and freedom leads us to our current place of restlessness and anguish. We pay little, if any, notice to the impact and influence we have upon the lives of all those around us nor do we understand what we do to ourselves when we become citizens of the world. No matter what…we do what pleases us, not what pleases God.
Our world moves from "Not yet, Lord” to "Never, Lord." Moral integrity fades. Values erode. Principles collapse. Our families, our communities, our institutions of learning, our government and our churches falter and fail. Satan is amassing an army of followers, some quite aware of whom they follow, the rest oblivious to the coming destruction. Whether it is blissful ignorance, arrogance, or something more naïve keeping us from following the path of biblical truth and God’s purpose for our lives, at this very moment, we stand at the crossroads of our lives with Pride and Desire as our companions. Concern for ourselves, the desires of our selfish, dissatisfied hearts and worries about what others think have done nothing but plant us firmly in the rubble and the ash of our own lives.
Although the context of our prayers might have been different, some of us know the confusion and inner turmoil leading us to pray words like those of St. Augustine of Hippo when he said, “Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet.” (Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, 8:7.17). When, however, we come face to face with the reality of God and the truth of His Word, He draws us near, and we, restless no more, understand fully the words of St. Augustine when he prayed, "You arouse us so that praising you may bring us joy, because you have made us and drawn us to yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you” (Lib 1,1-2,2.5,5: CSEL 33, 1-5).
God wants us to know the truth of who He is and find true rest in Him. He wants us to experience the deep satisfaction found in Jesus Christ. God created all of us to be emotional, feeling individuals; however, we must be able to navigate those feelings and emotions; rather than, allow whatever we feel to guide us. It is only possible to see transformational change in our lives when we choose to see the truth about ourselves in light of who we are in Christ Jesus. There are plenty of people out in the world living their subjective truth who tell us “Find your truth. Live your truth.” They want to be able to do that for themselves, so, of course, they want that for us, too. Some say, “There is strength in numbers,” but do we, choosing to follow our own truth or following the deceitful foolishness of the world, understand what kind of strength that is and where it leads us?
When we follow our feelings and our emotions and when we construct our worldviews based on subjective truth, a distorted view of reality guides us. Opinions and falsehoods masked as absolutes, pollute truth, and manipulate others, but then, when those with whom we agree and those sharing our reality do the talking we listen, and the truth is of little concern. With hearts, minds and souls focused on what makes us feel good, it is no wonder we ignore God and believe ourselves above Him in power and wisdom. In the words of R.C. Sproul, we say, “God, Your law is not good. My judgment is better than Yours. Your authority does not apply to me. I am above and beyond your jurisdiction. I have the right to do what I want to do, not what You command me to do” (The Holiness of God, Sanford, FL: Ligonier Ministries, 2006, p. 31).
We trap ourselves in a worldly mentality that says, whatever we want we can have, and we expect the whatever to happen immediately. Seeking satisfaction, we map out our lives according to our own perfect plan. For some, God and His biblical wisdom is a last resort, for others, not even a consideration. We stand in greener grass with dissatisfied hearts looking around for the next better thing. Our expectations overwhelm us. Our disappointments plague us. The Bible tells us, “Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8, CSB). When our asking, seeking, and knocking comes from selfish, hardened hearts and worldly desires, we open doors we should not and walk farther and farther away from the deep satisfaction our hearts, minds, and souls seek.
Deep satisfaction is God directed and found among those who are His, chosen and royal. Failing to see that, we seek and do not find. Nothing found in the material or the popular leads us to satisfaction. Leader or follower we need to make certain truth leads us, not someone or something else. Worldly yearnings overburden us and do damage to our hearts, our minds, our souls, and our strength. When we seek—we do find. We find the ideal job until it no longer is. We find the perfect partner until we change our minds about what perfection looks like. We move into our idyllic home in that coveted neighborhood, but then we stop watering our grass…We are surprisingly good at seeking until we find or taking...whatever the case may be.
Driven to accomplish more, to acquire more or to obtain the next better thing, we do; but the cost to our hearts, our minds, and our souls, our families and our relationships is great. We are constant seekers telling ourselves and everyone else, "Live your best life now." That, too, is a lie that keeps us looking outside ourselves for the answers. The yearning God placed deep within us is the one we so easily deny. Tossed about on the winds of our every whim, we forget the wisdom and truth given to us from the beginning. “Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place” (Psalm 51:6, NIV). Jesus is the only way to finding deep satisfaction. Following that path into eternity, we discover the only road that leads to living our best lives now.
