Joshua, our infant son, was crying. Again. So I did what every good father does, I woke my wife and said, “Dena, Joshua’s hungry.” She patiently got up to feed our little 6-month old bottomless pit. I had just turned over to reclaim my rest when I heard Dena crying out. Was something seriously wrong? Greatly alarmed and somewhat annoyed, I shot out of bed and, in the darkness, hammered my forehead into the halfway opened door of our bedroom. Thankfully, she only needed diapers. But the sense of urgency had me running blind. As it happens, the whole little episode makes a pretty good parable of the soul.
The soul is made for God. The sinful soul wants more. This drive for more is particularly acute for Americans who live under the powerful influence of an endowment to “certain unalienable rights,” not the least of which include “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Our declaration of independence might be good for throwing off the usurpations of powers, both foreign and domestic. But gracious endowment turns to reckless entitlement when the liberation of man becomes liberation from God. Separated from God, we find ourselves driven by our appetites, running with blind ambition, and routinely disoriented from blunt force trauma.
It appears that God’s children need to cultivate their appetites, especially those children living with the endowment of liberal democracies and under the intoxicating lure of consumerism. The psalmist says, “Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; like a weened child rests against his mother, my soul is like a weened child within me.” (Psalm 131:2, NASB) We all hunger. But what if insatiable hunger indicates that we were made for something more?
The psalmist implores God’s people to “hope in the LORD.” This is good for all who run with inconsolable urgency, whether you’re new to this race and running with blind ambition or finally tired of running and wanting a little peace and quiet. Augustine put it this way: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.” If you’ve been running with blind ambition, you’ll find your rest in God.