There's Something Better

I spent the night in Gothenberg, Sweden about two weeks ago and what I saw so impacted me that I could hardly sleep that night. It seemed as though the whole city was out frantically looking for some type of excitement or fulfillment. We were at a meeting in the Park Hotel until about 11:00. It was a very chilly evening in October and when we walked outside there was a line-up of people trying to get into the hotel. Apparently, they were waiting to get in the restaurant. Most were smoking, all were cold, yet they stood out there waiting to get in and somehow get that inner emptiness filled or satisfied. I want to let you know there is something better.
The streets were loaded with people that night, going in every direction, some driving, most walking. They were out there searching for something to satisfy. Many, you could tell, were under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and I am sure in many cases both. There is no way to really describe on paper what I saw and felt that night. I saw a world gone mad, a generation desperate for fulfillment. I wanted to yell out, “Listen everybody, there’s something better”. I knew that in a few hours after their “good time”, they would be empty and lonely again. Unfortunately, this dilemma is not unique to Gothenberg, it is a world wide problem.
In every man there is a God-shaped vacuum and until that vacuum is properly filled, man will continually search for inner satisfaction whether he realized it or not. It is not always with drugs, booze or sex. It is often being caught up with doing good things or looking for more and more ways to have fun, so that the inner craving can be satisfied. Sooner or later, all of these grow old, and leave him empty. I am telling you, there is a better way.
Last Friday evening I had a conversation with a woman medical doctor from Belgium. She said she was not at all interested in religious things. I asked her why she thought she was not interested in the church. She replied that it was because they had nothing to offer. It is sad, but I had to agree with her. Jesus came that we might have life but most churches offer only ritual, philosophy and tradition. It made me wonder how many of those people out on the streets of Gothenberg that night were there because the church they had gone to sometime in their life had nothing to offer. I am sure there were many.
As necessary as a good church is, it alone will never satisfy your inner hunger. It is only a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that can do that. When you have found Jesus your search is over. He is what the crowd on the street needed to satisfy their emptiness. He offers you a more abundant life, a life rich and fulfilling. Only He can give you meaning and purpose in life that will last. This is the better way I’m telling you about.
The one who goes out and tries to fill the vacuum with alcohol wakes in the morning with a hang-over, with a feeling of guilt for having thrown his money away, and for the things he said or did the night before, if he even remembers them. He probably does not even realize that the excess of alcohol did damage to his body and burned out a certain amount of brain cells, never to be replaced again. Then he wakes up one morning to find that he has been caught in the web of alcoholism. Not a single one of the nine million or so alcoholics in this country intended to end up that way. I want you to know that there is a better way.
The cigarette seems to be man’s comforter. Even though it is a costly habit and probably the single most detrimental threat to his health, a man continues to smoke to get a little comfort. There is something better. The Holy Spirit strongly desires to be your comforter. He will never give you cancer or a heart attack.
How many are destroying their mind and body with drugs today? They are doing so because they are searching for something, trying to fill that God-shaped vacuum within. The Bible tells us that in these last days the world will be deceived by drugs. We are already well on our way to seeing this. What a waste of life.
Can I tell you that there is a better way? Will you take it to heart? If you are caught in this trap I ask you to please take the better way, repent of your sins. Get on your knees and have a heart to heart talk with God. Tell Him how very, very sorry you are that you have not put Him first in your life. Repent of all the sins you know about, and those you can’t remember. Spend some time with Him, unload all your burdens, He will take them all. Now turn your whole life over to Him, every aspect of it, and promise to follow God the rest of your life. Then take Jesus Christ as your personal savior. He died for your sins, so that you can be forgiven. Accept this fact and thank God that He has provided this way of forgiveness for you.
When you have done this you are in fact a new creation. All of your sins have been forgiven, no matter how many or how bad they were. You will start living the more abundant life that Jesus promised. You are a new spiritual baby and you will need help to grow and mature. Now is when you will need a good Bible-believing, Spirit-filled church, so you will have the guidance and care you need.
You will never be sorry for going God’s way, it is the very reason He created you.