*Warning: Minor spoilers below (Very minor)*
Chances are you haven't seen John Carter. There was a lot of hype and many trailers building up the latest sci-fi movie. But sadly, very few people were lured into the theaters to watch the man on Mars. In fact, its been reported that Disney expects to lose $250 million dollars on the movie!!! As a movie, I thought it was pretty good and entertaining. However, a lot of the women are scantily clothed so depending on your maturity and weaknesses in that area, you may want just want to avoid seeing it.
As one of the few who went to see it, let me fill you in. John Carter is a manly man in the late 1800's who has always felt like there was something more to life. He is jaded and hurt from the past and ends up chasing gold in Native American territory when he makes a discovery that lands him all the way on...Mars! He joins into a long and ongoing war taking place on the planet, meets an eligible princess, and takes part in an adventure that ends with him having the life he had always wanted. Eventually, he gets ripped away and lands back on earth and spends all of his time trying to get back to his true home and life on Mars.
John Carter had grown tired of everything this world had to offer. Once he saw all of the amazing life and adventure that Mars had to offer, Earth became even less appealing to him. There is a point in the movie where he spends all of his earthly wealth and time to get back to Mars because nothing in his life on earth even compared.
For a sci-fi movie, that sounds a lot like real life to me. Have you ever chased after something this world has to offer only to finally get it and realize you want something else now? Have you ever wondered if there was anything more to life than the every day things we do? Have you ever just felt deep down that there had to be something else out there... some greater purpose... something exciting?
The Bible tells us that's exactly how we should feel.
Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. -- 1 Peter 2:11
I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me. -- Psalm 119:19
Instead, they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.-- Hebrews 11:16
I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. -- Ecclesiastes 1:14
You see, we are foreigners here on earth. This place is not our home. There is a city in heaven where we truly belong. The same longing for something greater in John Carter lies in all of our hearts. Like Solomon, we chase wealth, pleasure, knowledge, and all this world has to offer only to find that nothing under the sun ever satisfies us. If we only look to what we find here in this world, we wind up empty. Something is missing.
Its only when we look for something beyond this world and far over the sun, that we find something worth living for. This world and all it has to offer is fleeting, but heaven and its rewards are eternal. Relationships in this world come and go and let us down, but God is always there and never fails. The causes and missions of this life, whether it be saving the whales or fighting for social justice, don't add up to eternal significance, but living for God's cause and the mission of the Gospel have impact that lasts forever.
C.S. Lewis put it this way...
“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”
When John Carter realized Mars could be his, he was willing to spend everything he had on earth to get back there. As Christians who know that heaven is our true home, we should be spending everything we have on God's Kingdom. We ought to live our lives from the perspective that we are just passing through here and we have a mission from our true home to share the gospel and bring as many people home with us as we can.
Questions:
- What are some things in this life and in this world that you have been chasing after? Will they really satisfy the longings deep in your soul?
- Have you put your faith in Jesus to become a citizen of heaven? If not, you can today! Go ahead!
- How would your everyday life be different if you really believed that this life was just a drop in the bucket and eternity was what really mattered?
- How would your everyday life be different if you really believed that sharing the Gospel was your main mission during the days you have on earth?
- Don't forget to vote for Tuesday's topic at the top right of the site.
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