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Have you ever watched a child at Christmas time?

For weeks they dream about that gift. All they talk about is what they will be getting on Christmas morning. Then, the big day comes. They haven’t slept all night, in anticipation. They are up at the crack of dawn, tearing into the wrappings to get that thing that will satisfy them ‘forever.’ As parents, we all know what happens. About two hours later, that new thing is sitting in a corner and they long for something else.

We adults aren’t any better. That new car we must have, or that new outfit or ‘whatever.’ When we finally get it, it isn’t long before we are dissatisfied and wanting something else.

Often, we look at life, our jobs, our relationships, our possessions; and in a voice of distress we sigh, “IS THAT ALL THERE IS?” No matter what we acquire, the relationships we develop, the status we achieve—nothing seems to satisfy us. We are never contented, never at peace in our hearts, and always looking for more.

Why? The Bible has the answers.

In Genesis 1-3, we are told that God created all things, including a beautiful garden called Eden, into which He placed the first man and woman. God created these people because He wanted someone to love and adore Him, someone to fellowship with and with whom He could be a friend.

For a time, Adam and Eve had a wonderful relationship with God and with each other. Then something happened. Satan tempted this couple with the only thing God withheld from them. They believed Satan’s lies and doubted God’s Word, then ate that forbidden fruit. God had told them that when they did this, they would die.

Death, in the Bible, doesn’t mean to cease to exist, it means ‘separation.’ There is spiritual death—the separation of our spirit from the presence and communion with God. Physical death is the separation of the spirit man from the body.

Spiritual death occurred the moment Adam and Eve ate the fruit. Physical death began, too, the continual decay of the body until it no longer is able to support life and the soul leaves the body.

When spiritual death occurred, Adam became dissatisfied and from that time until this, everyone born is born spiritually dead, unable to fellowship and commune with God on their own. That is really what we are all looking for, and it is the only thing that truly satisfies. We all have a God-shaped void in our inner self that we try to fill with things or relationship, status, esteem, money or power. Nothing works.

So, what are the answers? How can we find peace and contentment?

The Bible, again, has the answer. Jesus said, “He that believeth in Me, though he were dead [separated from God], yet shall he live [be rejoined in fellowship]” (John 11:25).

You see, God had a plan to redeem (buy back) His fallen creation. He sent His son, Jesus, to live a perfect, sinless life. Jesus died on a cross as the one great sacrifice for sin and then rose from the dead as evidence of God’s acceptance of His payment for our sin. He said in John 14 that He is coming back again to receive His own to be with Him forever.

As earnest for this purchase, just as you give a down payment on a major purchase, He has given the person of the Holy Spirit to come into the lives of all who receive Him as Lord, and make alive their dead spirit (rejoin them to God in fellowship and communion). All who believe in (put their trust in) what Jesus did on the cross and receive Him as Lord, are restored in their fellowship with God.

As we read and study God’s Word, the Bible, and follow His leading through the Holy Spirit, we grow in our relationship with God and even become more like Him in our thinking. What He likes, we learn to like. What He dislikes, we learn to dislike. As a result, we become satisfied and contented.

The Apostle Paul said, “For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Philippians 4:11).

We are all looking for the same things: peace, contentment, fulfillment in life. All of these things can only be realized in a relationship with God through His son, Jesus.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6).

“If we confess our sins [think about them the way that God does], He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

We must repent—change our minds—and come to the Lord Jesus admitting that we are sinners. Believe that only He can save us. Yield to Him as Lord (Boss) and receive Him as Saviour.

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).

When we do this, He accepts us into His family and begins an eternal relationship with us. He gives joy and peace, even in the middle of troubles we face in this life. Then an eternal joy, free from trouble, after this life is over.

Dear Friend, wouldn’t you like to find the peace and contentment to fill that emptiness? Trust the Lord Jesus—receive Him as Lord and Saviour.

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