We are currently parrot-sitting for our son. Max is an African Gray we once thought was a male until one morning we found an egg in HER water dish. Recently we gave her a Fisher Price toy with a white knob. We never imagined what a success it would be. For weeks now she has been sitting on that knob. I am wondering when she will give up thinking it will hatch. But for now she loves it.
Her futile efforts remind me of the vast hordes seeking happiness in all the wrong places. The Book of Ecclesiastes is the chronicle of Solomon’s quest. He tried everything under the sun. Everything was available to him. However, over and over he came to the conclusion that he was chasing the wind. Wealth, women, education, building and philosophy left him empty. He was a bird on a fake egg.
Every once in a while I see the bumper sticker, “Jesus is the answer.” I always ask, “What’s the question?” But I know. The question is for all of us, “Where do we find fulfillment? Where do we find satisfaction for the efforts of daily life.” Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Jesus provides us with meaning and purpose. And what is that purpose? Godliness. Once we accept the free gift of eternity we have an unlimited amount of time to cultivate our mind, our body, our social relationships and our spiritual life. The fruit of such a quest is unbelievably rewarding. We open our lives to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and little by little each day we are refined and molded into God’s original purpose for us. The result is happiness and contentment unheard of in any other arena.
Written by Roger Bothwell on June 27, 2013
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