But I still haven't found what I'm looking for ...

So many of us spend time online these days. On a hunch, I checked what is the top traffic website in the world. It's google.com. Runners-up are youtube, facebook, instagram, and chatgpt to round out the top 5. The point? We're all searching for something. (The next 10 most-popular sites just confirm that.) 

We're looking for information, looking for a way to pass the time (or fill it meaningfully), looking for friends or family or connection, looking for conversation. 

I think St Augustine had it right: our souls are restless until they rest in God. 

There is a lot of information, but not much wisdom. A lot of people, but not many close friends. A lot of art, but not a lot of beauty or meaning. A lot of dating, but not a lot of love. A lot that we see, but not much that we find worth remembering. 

Christ is content worth finding. Faith, hope, and love are the connections that are worth remembering. Loving God and loving our neighbor, those are goals worthy of our dedication. 

Peace about the unknown future

There is a lot of anxiety in the air about the future. In some ways this is expected because we live in troubled times. Here are some anchors that can help us either see the future or shape the future: 

Trustworthy promises

Jesus said, "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart: I have overcome the world."  This is among many promises he gave us. He promised that he would be with us always to the end of the age, and that his life was given as a ransom for the multitudes and as a new covenant for the forgiveness of sins. He promised that he would return after a troublingly long absence to judge the world. 

Planting seeds that grow

The Bible often compares the word of God to a seed that grows and bears fruit, reproducing and multiplying itself as it goes. It is the same for human words too. If we speak the truth with love, there is more truth and love in the world. If we mostly comment on the faults of those we look down on, then by propagating meanness and arrogance we will see an increase of meanness and arrogance. It is not idly that Jesus reminds us that we will give an account for our words, and that we will be judged by the things we ourselves have spoken. There is a proverb that praises someone who speaks kind instruction. If all of Christ's followers join together in this, the change in our culture would be profound. One of the most profound effects we have on the future is the words we speak, along with the spirit in which they are spoken. 

Building what lasts

Another way in which we shape the future is by what we build. This is not limited to buildings. It includes friendships, families, and ties of fellowship. It extends to art, literature, and songs. Some of the songs we sing in our churches have lyrics that have endured for thousands of years. There is art which outlasts nations. 

Whenever the uneasiness of the world casts a shadow that we live in a time that is fading, let me lay up treasures in heaven that last.