Do you remember the phrase “you can’t see the forest for the trees?” What it refers to is that we sometimes get caught up in the  immediate problems and concerns (the trees) and fail to see the bigger meaning and purpose of life, and why were are even here (the forest). If you watch the news (any channel), you would think life is all about politics, groups hating each other, wars, oppression, and economic issues, all driven by fear and hopelessness! Those are the “trees” we are told to focus on each day, and we dutifully waste most of our lives fighting these same issues and battles over and over again, generation after generation.

Do you enjoy living your life like that? Don’t you sense that life can, and should, be a lot better than that? Well, if you are a Christian and have a basic understanding of God’s story in the Bible, you quickly realize this is not the life God intended for any of us to live at all! In Genesis, God created this world and all that is in it, and declared it “good”! We were designed to live in the very presence of God, without any sin in our lives, and were designed to live forever. Humans were created to be friends with God, to love each other, and to enjoy and rule over this amazing creation we call earth. Without sin, there was no hatred, no death, no fear, no illness, only enjoying God and each other and this amazing world!

Did you ever notice that when you’re at a beautiful place in nature, people all talk about the beauty of what we are seeing? I remember being in Alaska a few years ago and we were able to see Mt. Denali without any clouds at all (a rare opportunity!) We stared at it in awe, impressed by it’s majesty. Nobody asked each other if we were Democrat or Republican, or what Congress was voting on today, or what was happening on the border. No, we sensed in ourselves something transcendent and bigger than our false reality of what we focus on back home each day.

ARE WE ESCAPING REALITY, OR DISCOVERING OUR PURPOSE AND ULTIMATE DESTINY?

Reality, as the news presents it every day, was never God’s intention! All the hatred, death, anger, oppression we see is the result of our sin. We chose this for ourselves, by rejecting Gods’ ways. The Bible story make clear that God doesn’t want to leave us in that kind of life, and Jesus came to rescue us from the devastating effects of sin and restore us, and the world, to the purpose we were created for! The Bible make it clear that creation, as well as people, is looking to be redeemed and restored to its ultimate beauty and purpose:

 Romans 8:18-25 (NIV)
¹⁸  I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹  The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. ²⁰  For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹  that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. ²²  We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³  Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴  For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? ²⁵  But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

This time of year, people take their families and “go on vacation” to escape the “reality” of a stressful life we live under sin. They turn the normal world and stresses off, and breathe deeply and enjoy the wonders of creation and rest. They laugh more, relax, appreciate other people more, and if they are wise, they discern that God is behind all of this!

What if we began to understand vacations, and getting away, not as escaping “reality”, but actually getting a glimpse of the ultimate reality that God intends for us? I admire and appreciate my friends, and especially some new ones, that I sense grasp the concept that our real purpose and destiny here is to love God fully and be loved by him, to love each other deeply, and to relax and enjoy the amazing creation we live in! I think those “stargazers” who look up at night, those who climb mountains and love to walk beaches and hear the lapping of the waves, are not escaping reality at all. Rather, they are waking up and coming home to the life and purpose we were all meant for, to live and enjoy life with God!

GOD IS A ‘CHANGIN’ THINGS!

Jesus came to rescue us from this maddening, never ending cycle of hate, fear, destruction and death. Not by holding more seminars or passing more laws, but by allowing the power of God to transform our hearts, and make us new people from the inside out. The contrast between the present world ( the sinful desires of the world) and God’s new life (walking by his Spirit) is made clear in Galatians 5:

Galatians 5:16-26 (NIV)
¹⁶  So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ¹⁷  For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. ¹⁸  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. ¹⁹  The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰  idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹  and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²²  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. ²⁵  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶  Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

When we allow God’s Spirit to transform us, and then take these biblical principles and God’s power and apply them to the problems we face, God will change society. There is no issue we face today that God’s has not given us his solution to in the Bible. For example, in dealing with the problems of race today, I encourage you to watch Dr. Tony Evans’ messages and teaching on Kingdom Race Theology (on Youtube), and read his book Oneness Embraced. He explains wonderfully how God’s principles and ways will work, much better than any human solution alone!

SO, HOW DO YOU CHOOSE TO LIVE THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?

Jesus came to redeem us and to restore us and the world to it’s original design and purpose. He will return and banish sin and those who refuse his offer of new life, and restore humanity and creation to the way it was supposed to be! And God will dwell with us again, the way it was meant to be, forever!

So, you and I can continue to live life in the “trees”, the false reality shoved us at us each day in the news and every aspect of life.

Or, we can choose the “forest”, the future life and world that Jesus begins to offer us now as he changes us from the inside out, and one that will come to full fruition when he returns to rule the earth!

I choose God’s new life now, the life I was created for!

I choose each day to find more ways to love God and experience his love, to love and appreciate and be amazed by other people, even those who differ from me, and to have fun and joy as I experience this amazing world God has given to us!

I leave you with a wonderful thought and focus from Paul:

Philippians 4:6-9 (NIV)
⁶  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ⁸  Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. ⁹  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me–put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.