Look up only
Teachings Scholar Odum  

Look up only

Look up only to Him who can unburden you. Matthew 11:22 reminds us of the help Jesus offers when He said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

This age is a tapestry of peculiarities. None before has been as exposed, as assured, as immersed in knowledge as this one. It reflects the gleam of this golden age. Talented and vibrant people are achieving amazing feats in their respective spheres. The industries and professions sparkle with the impact of their skill, vibrant kaleidoscopes of previous impossibilities now made possible by pure passion.

The scene is fast changing, like a canvas lying subject to the swirls of billions of paint brushes. What can be seen at first glance is the welcomeness and exciting diversity of it all, hardly the disorder.

The Reality

It an inherently hungry age. The lion’s share of the decisions we make are in an attempt to abate this insatiable appetite for validation; for acceptance and belonging, for love, for happiness. This has bred within us a fierce restlessness. Nothing less than this can create the drive we witness. The passing of time has only served to heighten the longing, and worsen the need.

Today, millions of people either consciously or unconsciously seek these things from different, increasingly alarming sources; depending on variations in upbringing, status and background. It could be from affiliation with a group of people, wealth, fame, power, beauty; or even the adoration and worship of others. One thread runs through all of these different paths: emptiness. It never seems to be enough. Shock and terrible disappointment follow this realization.

In moments like these, the whisper of an escape becomes urgent and unrelenting, no matter how temporary. The search begins for the vacuum found at the bottom of the liquor bottle; the ecstasy of the hard drug, the dispassion of pouring a truckload of near mindless work just to keep busy and forget; the fleeting release in the arms of that person who either means the world or nothing at all, really.

The sad thing is that we most times plunge into them again; hoping for a release that would last even just a few seconds longer than before. What we find is a worse outcome, a deeper, darker well, one that just amplifies the emptiness. The result is a destructive vicious cycle.

The Solution

Straightforward solutions to complex problems always seem too good to be true, but this one is. We shouldn’t have to suffer these horrible things when true freedom is staring us right in the face. Look up only to Jesus, who is full of love and mercy. He stands ready to forgive our wrongs; and shower upon us much more than we can even imagine.

Help, we realize, is merely one yes away. We will find that true satisfaction is obtained only at the point when we hand over these burdens that are too heavy for us completely to Him. We will find rest only when we look up to Jesus. Every other means will only fetch us heartache. This is simply too good to pass up, don’t you think? Look up only to Jesus!

Also Read: The Christian race is very important.