Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Download MP3 (right click to save)
I woke up my kids early that morning to get the view from the top of the mountain. We were vacationing in Maine, and I was told that Cadillac Mountain, which was not too far from there, was the place to go - to be able to see the sunrise as early as you can see it. So, I thought that it was a good thing for our family to do.
So about 3:00 a.m. in the middle of a campground, I woke up three kids who didn't want to be awake, and stuffed a donut in their mouth so they didn't wake up the whole campground. It's very important to have the donuts ready if you're going to wake them up in the middle of the night. And then I bundled them into the car and we headed up the mountain. They said, "Daddy, why are we doing this?" I said, "We're going to be the first ones to see the sunrise! You're going to love this!"
When we arrived at the top of the mountain we found a handful of other adventurers. So we got out, looked toward the place where the sun comes up, and waited. And waited. And waited. Did I mention we waited? The kids were turning increasingly hostile, and the sun never did come up that morning. Well, I mean, it did come up, but the clouds covered it the entire time. So, that was the day I lost a fair amount of credibility with my family; another one of Daddy's great adventures. We had made the effort to get to the top of the mountain, and then the view was a disappointment. It often is.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Feeling Down At the Top."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God is from Ecclesiastes 2, where King Solomon, after having pursued every pleasure man could possibly afford (because he had all the money with which to do it), after achieving all the success, building all the monuments he ever wanted to build to himself, received all of the education you could have ever hope for, the wisest man in the world said this in his diary, "So I hated life because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless; a chasing after the wind." Wow!
He goes on in chapter 3, verse 11 to say, "God has set eternity in the hearts of men." Now, there are some modern Solomons. I'm thinking of a successful attorney I met not too long ago, respected in the community, owns everything he wants. He's planning a long trip right now with a private pilot and a small plane. And a relative of his said, "Aren't you concerned about the plane crashing?" He said, "Frankly, I don't know what the reason is for living."
Two days later I met a man who's made all the big deals he could make in his career; he has all the name and wealth he could want, and he's met the first problem he can't beat. He's bored with the conquests. Sounds like Alexander the Great, who at the age of 33 said, "I have no more worlds to conquer" and cried and wept over it just before his death.
See, you can climb to the top of the mountain, see the view, and it's a disappointment. Solomon knew why. It's because there's a hole in our heart that only someone eternal can fill. Maybe you're in one of two categories, either those who aren't at the top and they think that's why they have no peace, or those who are at the top and know that there's no peace there.
Jesus was 33 when He died, like Alexander the Great, but before His death, He talked peace, "Peace I leave with you;" He said, "My peace I give to you." You know, the Bible says, "You were created by Him and for Him" and until He's the center of your life, the view from the top will never give you peace, it will never give you fulfillment, it will never be everything you were looking for, because you were made for Jesus. You were made for Jesus. How long do you want to search? How many mountains to nowhere do you want to climb before you find the One you were made by and made for?
See, all you're looking for isn't over all those hills you've climbed, or some of the others you want to climb. But it is at the top of a hill; the hill where Jesus Christ died on a cross. Nailed to that cross; allowing that to happen so He could bear the punishment for what separates you from the God you were made for - your sin. And the day you open up your life to Jesus and say, "Jesus, you're what I've been looking for. I've looked all the wrong places, and at this cross, I bow before you and I give myself to the man who loved me enough to die for me." On that day, the hole in your heart is finally filled, your sins are forgiven, and you are guaranteed heaven.
Life is a series of disappointing views until we give our life to the One who alone can give it eternal meaning. Listen, if you want to begin your relationship with Him today, tell Him, "Jesus I'm Yours." Go to our website and check out what we've laid out there as a simple Bible path to get to know Him and have a relationship with Him. YoursForLife.net. Every other destination will disappoint you until you're home, and home is the waiting arms of Jesus Christ.