I feel compelled to communicate that every longing of humanity mentioned in my last blog are satisfied as we live in relationship with Jesus Christ. I realized that the reason I did not leave Avatar feeling blue is because Jesus has changed my life. Jesus has met my longing:
1. To worship: Christ-followers don’t worship trees or an impersonal force of nature, we get to worship the one true living God. In John 4:23 Jesus said, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
2. To be free: Jesus sets people free from their sins and selfish desires. He gives us a freedom that empowers us to serve other people. We find true joy in this freedom as we use our liberty to help others. God has given us a beautiful planet to steward well and enjoy as we live life. Galatians 5:1 says, “1It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
3. For a meaningful purpose: Matthew 28:18-20 says, “Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Jesus has commissioned us to participate in the great adventure of making disciples of all nations. Nothing is more significant than being a powerful witness for Christ.
4. For love: Jesus defined for us the true meaning and expression of love. Jesus’ sacrificial death proves to us that no one can love us like him. In John 15:12-13 Jesus said, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
5. To belong: When Jesus saves us from sin and death, he joins us to a fellowship of other Christ-followers called the body of Christ or the church. This group of people becomes our new spiritual family. Our longing to belong is fulfilled as we connect with other Christ-followers and serve God together. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
For all those experiencing the “Avatar Blues” there is a remedy that can only be found by receiving Jesus as your Lord and Savior. James Cameron’s movie has awakened in audiences around the world the longings we all possess. It is true that there is a God-shaped vacuum in every human heart that only Christ can fill. Pandora, 3-D glasses, the latest visual effects and compelling characters only give us a few hours of stimuli and escape that produce in us a vain hope of living in utopia. When reality sets in, we are left with feelings of depression and suicidal thoughts. Jesus Christ, the living Son of God, is the only one who can fill our hearts with a peace, purpose, and joy for all of eternity.
Oh, by the way, heaven will be much more amazing than Pandora.
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