The Greatest Need

For the longest time, I didn’t think I needed God.

I believed in God since I was about eight years old, but I don’t think you could say he was really part of my life.  Often I would talk to God late at night before I went to sleep.  I had this old clock radio – I think it was my dad’s or my grandfather’s – and when I talked to God, I would always talk to him through it, kind of like a ham radio or CB. In those days, God was who I turned to when I needed to talk things out, but I never really thought about listening. God was there when I wanted him, but I wasn’t really in the business of being there for God.  I guess at that age, and for many years thereafter, I didn’t think God needed very much from me.  And at the time, I didn’t know how or why I should rely on God.  When I was successful at something, I didn’t thank God for the gifts he gave me to do it.  At mealtime, I didn’t give thanks to God for making it possible for this food to be on my table.  When I was making important decisions, I wasn’t thinking about the path God was hoping I would choose.  Pretty much it was all about me.

And I was fine with that.

I mean, it was nice to have God around, but I felt pretty self-sufficient.  Still, there was this piece of myself that was missing.  I couldn’t identify it at the time, but there were deep questions about life and purpose and existence that kept rattling around in my head.  There were times when I wondered if life was just this phenomenally random event or if there was meaning and purpose behind it.  I would wake up once in a while in sheer panic, anxious if there was anything more or if I would just be buried in some hole in the ground. I think I worried most that I would never know because I would just cease to exist. My life just a big “fade to black.”  These questions, these worries, were persistent.  They would come back to the surface out of nowhere, because the truth is I never dealt with them.  It wasn’t until I went through a real spiritual crisis, when I went into a period of deep reflection that I understood just how much I needed God.  Really NEEDED God.  It was then I realized all those times I thought I had picked myself up off the ground and dusted myself off, God was there with me and cleaned up those parts I didn’t even notice were dirty.  God was with me in my success.  God was with me in my struggles.  And it dawned on me that God never demanded anything from me in return.  But now, having realized the impact God had on my entire life, I wanted to give something back.  I wanted to share this amazing story of God’s work in me with anyone who would listen.  And in that moment I decided to do what I have the privilege to do now.

It was in the NEXT moment that I realized I’d have to tell Cassie.

How would she react?  I knew this is what God was calling me to do, but when you hear people say stuff like that, don’t you wonder for a moment about their sanity?  Are they hearing voices?  How do they know it was God?  Plus, going into the ministry not only meant a big cut in pay, but three more years of school. And a pretty big life change, too. It was with all these things on my mind that I walked into the bedroom to tell Cassie about this revelation God had placed on my heart.  And when I did, the most surprising thing happened.  Cassie said, “I knew it.  I could see it in you, but I wanted you to say it for yourself so you never thought I pressured you into it.”  Wow.  It was amazing to me that God had been working in Cassie’s heart just as he had in mine.  He had been preparing her for this next step in our journey just as he had been preparing me.  It was only one of several “God-incidences” that kept happening as I followed where God was leading.

My life had changed.

And it will always be different now that I know how much I need God and how God has always been there for me.  I look at life differently and I see God in places I never noticed before. A skeptic would say I was making it up or I was reading too much into it.  But these “God-incidences” occur past the point of coincidence, and I can see as I’ve looked back how God is present in my life.  Now, are there times I have doubts about my faith?  Yes.  Are there times I wonder where God is in this mess we call life?  Sure.  Are there times I make mistakes?  Pretty much every day.  But my life is different now, and in ways I could never have imagined. I want your life to be different too if it isn’t already. It’s the reason I became a pastor, to help others have this same kind of experience. Because I know what it’s like to live a life without God at its center.  I know what it’s like to feel completely alone in the world when you don’t have to be.  And I don’t want that for anyone.  I have also found that simply going to church is no guarantee you have really experienced the life-changing power of God in your life.  There are people who come to church regularly who are about as far from God as any atheist.  Until you realize how much you need God, your life will remain essentially the same.  Like me, you’ll have this hole in your heart like a donut hole, and you’ll try and fill it with whatever you can.  But until you find God, that hole will always be there.  Because the one thing you need more than anything else is God.  Only God can fill that hole.

We’ve been talking about basic needs all throughout Advent.

Throughout the Christmas season, we’ve shared how people have needs and when those needs aren’t met, we’re held back from being our best selves.  Maslow called this his Hierarchy of Needs, but long before Maslow, God outlined them for us through his prophet Isaiah.  Clothes, food, and shelter are some of the basic physiological needs we have, but equally as important are things like compassion, kindness, love, and forgiveness.  And when we have these in our lives, we can become the person God created us to be.  But when we don’t have them, we become focused on whatever it is we are missing.  We crave them and keep searching for ways to fill those empty holes in our lives.  The same is true for our soul.  Just as our bodies crave nourishment, protection, and comfort so does our spirit and God is the answer to it all.    

This duality of spirit and body we see throughout Scripture.

Jesus feeds the 5,000 and meets their physical needs, but he also declares himself to be the Bread of Life (John 6:35) and the Living Water (John 4:13).  Body and Spirit.  In Leviticus and Isaiah, God tells us to give shelter to those in need, while King David tells us to dwell in the shelter of the Lord.  Body and Spirit.  Jesus tells us to love our neighbor and then the disciple John reveals that God IS love.  Body and Spirit are often interwoven throughout the Bible because both are fundamental to life. That’s why we feel so unfulfilled even when we have everything the world says we should have. That’s why people who have all the money in the world still seek fame, power, and influence.  It’s why they feel this need to leave their mark.  But ultimately, only one thing can give you the peace that will put your soul at ease and that one thing is Christ. 

If you believe this, then you know why it’s so important to be the hands and feet of Christ in the world.

When a person spends their life trying to fulfill the most basic needs like food, shelter, and clothing, it leaves little time to ponder on God.  So, we do what we can.  We give as we are able.  Some can give more than others, and if you can’t give a lot, do not be discouraged or think that your contribution is less than someone else’s. Because to God what matters is your heart for giving.  God loves a cheerful giver.  Remember the story about the Widow’s mite?  All these rich people are dropping handfuls of coins into the giving plate, making a loud noise so everyone knows they gave a lot.  But the widow drops just two coins into the plate, and it is the widow Jesus praises, because she gave from her heart.  She wasn’t seeking credit and she gave what she could while all those others who made a big scene could have given more.  God wants people with a loving heart.  Which reminds me of a certain passage from the New Testament.  It’s one that keeps encouraging me to grow in my giving and grow in my loving of other people.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Christ came to us as the baby Jesus so many years ago.

He was born as we were born.  He lived a life as we live our own – he ate, drank, and slept as we do.  He experiences life as fully human and yet fully divine.  When he returned to us, we knew he was exactly who he said he was, Immanuel – God with Us.  One of the most important lessons he taught us in his short time on Earth is one that surrounds all that we do.  It’s the one tenet that overrides all others and it’s how God wants us to live our life.  Jesus said in John 13:34-35, ³⁴ “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  These were among the last words Christ said to us and the last command he gave.  Love one another.  This Christmas, let us remember these words and seek to live them out.  Let us show our love for one another by doing all we can to help in the world today. Let us remember the words of the disciple John when he wrote, “¹⁸ Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”  Merry Christmas!