searching, meaning, purpose.
These words have been playing on repeat in the tape deck of my mind the past 5 days, to the point that the tape should just about be worn out.
In the red light district of Chiang Mai I see this unending, ever-winding, search. I see men searching for instant gratification of their own desires, and women searching for a way to provide for their families.
In the Buddhist temples I see devout followers of Buddhism giving up everything they have, searching for something; unknowingly searching for God, and yet thinking Buddha is the answer.
In the universities of Chiang Mai city I have met countless students who are searching for meaning in the major they have chosen–having only chosen it because of their parents nudging; having to live between always wanting to honor their parents in everything they do, and pursuing something they do not enjoy.
And today, I met a seemingly free-spirited young Argentinean nomadic woman, floating from Latin America, to India, all the way to Chiang Mai, Thailand, in search of something her soul cannot deny, and yet her lips cannot clarify.
All of these people, all of humanity, is on a quest for meaning. We all desire to make sense of our lives; to know that somehow we are living for more than just our own personal happiness–despite how we often think that alone will satisfy us.
But guess what friends: end the search party, throw away the milk cartons, cancel the Amber Alert, because the search is over! When you truly encounter Jesus and decide to partner with Him in the crazy story He is writing for humanity, you suddenly do not have to search anymore. Your purpose is found, your thirst for meaning is quenched; the search party is called off. And what a beautiful thing that is, that we can actually find what we have been looking for.
And this is also what breaks my heart. All of the scenarios I described of the Thai people revolved around a NEVER ENDING search for meaning. When we begin to hunt for purpose in ANYTHING but God and things of His nature, our search is suddenly a no-exit roundabout. There is no end, the search is never over, there is never any resolution.
So my prayer for the people I have met so far is that they would encounter Jesus, that they would find resolution in their mad hunt for meaning. I pray that their ritualistic Buddhism, their unfulfilling sexual fantasies, and their literal journey across the world for anything that will give them temporary fulfillment, would end. I am praying that they would feel the peace and relief that comes with realizing Jesus is the only one who fulfills our deepest longings for purpose.
My Jesus brings purpose. My Jesus brings meaning. My Jesus brings joy in abundance that manifests itself through his followers mad cool lives' they are living for His glory.
I have called off the search party. Have you?
