Missing

450,000 pound airliners don't just disappear. Until now.

In Illinois, we are in the middle of a primary midterm election––today in fact. Russia has essentially invaded Ukraine and now occupies the state of Crimea.

But its Malaysian flight 370 with its 239 people on board that has captured our interest.

And it probably should. All 239 people are souls with families and friends. They are people just like us. We don’t know if they are alive or dead, being held captive in some remote area or entombed deep in the ocean. We wonder what it was like for them when they realized their crisis and knew how helpless they were. It’s awful just thinking about it.

The hardest part is not knowing. Not knowing what happened, why it’s missing, where it went, or who is responsible.

It’s a global illustration of the inner quest of millions of people: Something is missing. 

They know it’s something big. They don’t know what happened to it. They don’t know who is responsible. The harder thing, though, is that most don’t even know what it is that is missing. They just know that something is.

Jesus talked about this in his parable of the lost coin. He also talked about it in his parable of the hidden treasure. HIs point wast that what is missing is so paramount, that every activity should be dropped and everything perceived valuable ought to be sacrificed for the sake of finding and taking possession of this crucial ingredient for life.

Maybe you feel that way and you are even frustrated with me for not saying what it is. You know there is something missing in your life, but you’re having trouble identifying it yourself. It’s like the guy who said,

“I should be happy. I’ve got everything that people say should make a person happy. But something’s missing. It’s like there ought to be more than this.” 

There is. 

You were created for more than just yourself and even your friends, family, work, or whatever relationships or responsibilities you have. You were created for the benefit of your creator. He made you to enjoy you. He made you for him. He made you to know him, to love him, to communicate with him, to be in a relationship with him.

Are you fulfilling your purpose? Are you bringing pleasure to God. Is he able to enjoy a relationship with you?

Until that happens, there will always be something missing. Because without God in your life, happiness and fulfillment for you will be more elusive than than even Malaysian flight 370.