Thinkaloud | a place for you

God’s place for us…

This generation, perhaps more than any other, suffers from being rootless. There are many names for the malady, but the symptoms are part of us: anxiety, restlessness, and a sense of being lost. Many people feel they do not belong anywhere.

This rootlessness expresses itself in a number of ways, but primarily in the frantic search for security that grips the heart. The tragedy is that so many look for security in the wrong place. They are doomed to frustration and disillusionment. The direction of their life will not lead to lasting joy, not even to more than momentary satisfaction.

A corollary of the sickness of our age is the abiding belief that there must be a personal utopia, a place where all will be right and beautiful and where we will be at home.
Where did the idea that “some day all will be well” come from? Who or what planted such hope in human hearts?

The Christian answer is, in the oft-quoted words of Augustine: “Thou has created us for Thyself, and our heart cannot be quieted till it may find repose in Thee.” God, in His infinite wisdom, has made us so that we cannot be truly satisfied by the things this world offers. Fame, fortune, good looks, excellent health and an interesting job: none of these is large enough to fill a life.

God has made a place for us in His love, and when we accept His gift we are no longer rootless, nor are we anxious. Our eyes are opened to see the true values of life. Our treasure is not of the currency of earth.

Such believers have accepted the counsel of Jesus, who said: “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves. Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be” (Matthew 6: 19 - 21, NLB).

Some years ago a Swiss psychiatrist, Dr. Paul Tournier, wrote A place for you, one of a series of books, which looked at contemporary human problems from the viewpoint of a Christian doctor. The awareness of the problems, in itself, said Tournier, never could bring about the healing of persons. But when someone believed that God had a place for him/her, and was willing to move from deprivation to a biblical perspective, then the healing commenced.
There is a recurring picture which is the theme of countless stories, and which has found its way into the legends of many nations.

The picture is this: you are lonely, tired and hungry and you have no place to stay. As you trudge wearily on your journey, you see in the distance an inviting house, with bright lights and a cozy look about it.

You approach the house and look in the window. There you see a blazing fire in the fireplace, a comfortable easy chair, a pot of tea (or coffee) and perhaps a slice of hot toast.
Your unhappy condition is too heavy a burden. You cry inwardly and then pound on the door, hoping to be invited in. A kindly person, who asks why you’ve taken so long, opens the door. The place has been prepared just for you.

God’s place for us is all that - and more.

Writer: Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell Ryan is a former Editor in Chief in Canada and the UK. In retirement he is a copy editor of theRubicon and the author of two series on theRubicon - Resurrected Writers and Thinkaloud.

Sunday, February 15th, 2009 Thinkaloud, theRubi-Blog

2 Comments to Thinkaloud | a place for you

Colonel Ryan:

This place is a great thing to long for but to find it on earth is difficult, even when we let Him do his work in us. There is so much evil ready to snatch away our portion and our cup, to encroach on our rightful boundaries.

Thanks for this,

Andrea