Beholding Jesus

2 Cor. 17-18: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.”Humanity is driven by the need to worship. The inclination to adore is woven into what it means to be a human. And this doesn’t simply mean we love to bow down to relics and sculpted images—it means that something must sit on the throne of our hearts.In other words, we have to be obsessed with something.A philosopher once observed that physical hunger doesn’t necessarily indicate that we’ll get food.It does, however, indicate that food exists.Humanity is haunted by a deep hunger to venerate—a clear indication that something is meant to satisfy the hunger.The difference between joy and joylessness; between a rock-solid foundation and a foundation in shambles; between freedom with clarity and confused imprisonment, is determined by who we are hoping in to fulfill our hunger.I am here to tell you that the One the world has been looking for since Eden, who will more than fulfill the foundational need to be smitten, is none other than Jesus Christ, the Son of God. All the heroes in our hearts are only trying to be Him.In the beginning, humanity was aware of this. The dwelling place of God was with Man, and we were enthralled and flawless in His presence. But when the serpent questioned our trust in His goodness, we ate of the lie that God was less than enough. We were cut off from His presence and condemned to wander as aliens, incessantly seeking to be satisfied in all the wrong places.And today, we’re still wandering away from Him, ever hoping in and having our hopes dashed by lies.We move towards people—spouses, parents, girlfriends and boyfriends—relentlessly hoping that they will be the ones to whom we can entrust our dreams and expectations—the ones we can adore without restrictions. And we’re shattered when they let us down.We spend our lives building and bowing down to our own image, hoping to make it large enough to live forever in the memory of mankind and excellent enough to justify our existence. We’re possessed by the craze to fit in and the desperation to stand out.This self-addiction pumps blood into our pervading undercurrent of anxiety and insecurity. It scatters our peace, because the bitter truth is that no one deserves to be loved: We are foundationally fallen, and no one has it together.On the other side of the spectrum, we try to be good enough to please God; we try to be our own salvation. This mentality inevitably racks us with anxiety, because the things that we do can never meet His holy standard. The thought of God far from gladdens us—it terrifies us.These attempts at self-made salvation feed a hollow and hypocritical faith. Our pride can’t handle the truth of our depravity, so we put up facades of having it all together. We disguise our guilt by comparing ourselves with “greater” sinners. We dishonor others to elevate our own reputation.The facts are inescapable—peace, strength, and satisfaction cannot be found inside our own souls.So stop looking there.The staggering truth is that there is one person who is everything we’ve ever needed. There is a Hero. There is an absolute, real-live answer to the deepest, agonizing questions.The real-live answer is a real-live person—it’s Jesus Christ.Doesn’t this truth somehow hit the spot—that ravenous soul-hunger, growling in heartbreak and anger through all the terrible decisions we’ve made? Doesn’t it just make your heart break for joy, to know that there is a Hero whom we can adore without being held back by the nagging fear of disappointment?Jesus Christ more than satisfies our highest hopes and wildest dreams. The impossible expectations that we had for the people in our life find their destination in Him.Worshipping Jesus is the one and only key to owning immeasurable peace and joy. Understanding Him puts everything in perspective; everything makes beautiful sense. Knowing how wonderful, good, merciful, and powerful He is, is the foundation to having the fullest life. 78