It Was Just a Mirage
Guest post by Chase Green.
He had traveled the desert all day in the blazing heat.
With no signs of relief in sight, the wandering man began to despair, “Will I ever find relief?” He continued onward, eventually spotting what appeared to be a large lake a good way off.
With renewed enthusiasm and longing for a precious drink, the man continued onward. The only problem was that the further he walked, the further away the lifesaving drink appeared to be.
What was wrong? How could this be?
With his strength ever diminishing, the man wondered if he would ever reach his destination and partake of the sweet, quenching relief of the lake’s cold waters.
Unfortunately, relief never came, for it was just a mirage. A mirage is defined as “an optical illusion caused by atmospheric conditions, especially the appearance of a sheet of water in a desert or on a hot road caused by the refraction of light from the sky by heated air” (Oxford Dictionary online).
A spiritual mirage
But what about a “spiritual mirage?”
You see, how many people are roaming the “desert” of life, in search of relief, only to be fooled by the “mirage” that is the passing pleasure of sin (i.e. Heb. 11:25). We live in a world in which so many people search for happiness in all the wrong places – fame, fortune, prestige, pleasure, drugs, distractions – but nothing alleviates their pain.
Like the lost man who can’t seem to find water even though it appears within reach, so these aimless wanderers of life drift from place to place in search for meaning, only to fall short.
Where true meaning is found
The Bible teaches that our meaning can only be found in Christ. The things written in the book of John, for instance, (and the rest of the Bible) were “written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31).
Jesus told us that He came “that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecc. 12:13-14).
True happiness can only be found in Christ, and in keeping His commandments. Don’t fall for Satan’s “mirages,” which only bring emptiness and sorrow.
Chase Green is a good friend that I spent some time with in preaching school - he graduated in the class before me. Chase preaches for the Marietta Church of Christ in Marietta, Oklahoma.
Chase hosts the Everyday Christian podcast with the Scattered Abroad Network.
Chase is always busy in our Lord’s kingdom, and I’m glad he was willing to share his thoughts with us!