ELISABETH CARTER reflects on how the search for perfection ultimately leads us to God…
I recently had an event to attend that had a very specific dress code, and I didn’t own anything that would work. So I had to embark on an activity that I do not really enjoy: shopping for something specific.
It always seems that when I am trying to buy something just perfect to fulfil a specific need, I can’t find it anywhere. And that’s exactly what happened in this case. I went to countless stores, looking for the perfect dress, but I just couldn’t find one.
Looking for that perfect something? PICTURE: Jonathan Hoxmark/Unsplash
“When we look at the world around us, we may find things that make us happy, that satisfy in the short term, and even will make us feel ‘just right’ for a period of time. But ultimately, nothing in this world can satisfy us…because it’s not supposed to.”
In the end, I found a dress that fitted and matched the requirements, but I didn’t love it. Oh, well. I’d run out of time, and this dress just had to do.
But I wasn’t happy with my purchase. I’d been looking for something “just right”, and what I came home with in my shopping bag was “just OK”.
Life can be a bit like this, when we are looking for something to satisfy us, but we realise that nothing we can find is perfect.
We look for someone to love us without fail, and we get married – but even our spouses let us down sometimes.
We look for security, so we save and invest our money – but money can’t fix it when the doctor calls with bad news.
We look for purpose and meaning, so we pursue an engaging career – but then along comes Monday and another tedious week at the job we thought we loved.
We look for confidence in our identity, so we invest time and money in our education and appearance – but an unflattering photo or unkind comment is enough to send us diving under the covers to hide.
In his influential work Mere Christianity, CS Lewis had something important to say about our unmet craving for satisfaction. He wrote: “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”
When we look at the world around us, we may find things that make us happy, that satisfy in the short term, and even will make us feel “just right” for a period of time. But ultimately, nothing in this world can satisfy us…because it’s not supposed to.
We are made not for this broken, unsatisfying world, but for eternity – where we will never have to worry about our source of love, security, purpose or confidence.
It’s a difficult thing to remember while we still live here on earth, but because we have this hope to look forward to, we can begin to taste true satisfaction right now. Though we are surrounded by things that let us down, we follow a God who will never let us down.
We look for love – and His love is perfect.
We look for security – and through Jesus our future is secure in his hands.
We look for purpose and meaning – and He tells us to be His servants and His witnesses.
We look for confidence in our identity – and He tells us we are His precious children.
The world cannot offer us true satisfaction, but God can – and I can’t wait until I can experience what it’s like to be fully satisfied in His presence.
