Jonathan Falwell - 1,000 Days: The Ministry of Christ

1000
DAYS

1000
DAYS

THE MINISTRY OF CHRIST

Jonathan Falwell

2012 Jonathan Falwell

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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version. 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Falwell, Jonathan.
1,000 days : the ministry of Christ / Jonathan Falwell.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-8499-4808-4 (hardcover)
1. Christian life. 2. Jesus Christ--Teachings. I. Title.
BV4501.3.F34 2012
248.4861dc23

2011049518

Printed in the United States of America
12 13 14 15 16 QG 5 4 3 2 1

CONTENTS

A bout a year ago I watched a documentary about a couple who had devoted their lives to climbing mountains. Reaching the top of peaks was their single driving passion in life, and they were good at it. They had spent years training. They owned all the latest technological gearair tanks, high tech ropes, ice axes, and crampons. They were muscled and sinewy, and they ate only healthy foods. Every year they planned out their schedules based around which stratosphere-scraping summits they intended to climbK2, Makalu, Annapurna, and more.

As I watched the show, I found myself respecting what they did. Their lives revolved around a different sort of adventure than most people encounter. This couple traveled to remote corners of the world and scaled the most exotic peaks on the planet. Few live like that, and the couples story was inspiring, to say the least.

But what got me thinking, what became poignant to me, was when the interviewer began asking the couple about why they climbed all these mountains. At that point in the interview, the couples tone changed and their countenance fell.

Why do we always climb? the woman answered the interviewer first. Because were always restless.

We are never satisfied, said the man. As soon as we climb one peak, were always unhappy until we can climb another.

I was struck by the unmistakable longing in their voices. As the interview continued, this couple characterized their lives as a constant search. They were no longer climbing for the sheer joy of the sportit had become a deeper quest; they were climbing because they were searching for purpose. Each expedition became infused with this hunt for meaning. They werent simply climbing mountains. They were searching for inner peace.

Sorrowfully they admitted they had yet to find what they were looking for. They struggled and sweated and froze and inched their way up the sides of mountains for days and sometimes weeks on end, only to spend a few minutes on top of a mountain before they climbed back down again, shrugged their shoulders, and asked each other, Well, whats next?

As I pondered this couples story, what saddened me was how many peoples lives are characterized by similar searches, although people might not articulate it just so. In this sense the mountain becomes a metaphor for whatever people think will satisfy their longings for significance, purpose, contentment, and meaning. The act of continually climbing is a metaphor for whatever people try to reach those goals.

I am sure you have encountered this. You can look around at your friends or acquaintances or read news stories about how people are on quests to achieve something, fix something, or obtain something. But the goal is elusive, leaving people dissatisfied. Or if a goal is reached, it often doesnt deliver what was expected. People talk about how they are dissatisfied with their lives, always searching for a greater sense of meaning. Common statements include: Were always restless, and We are never satisfied.

Lets make this personal. How about you? Are you climbing mountain after mountain? When you take an honest look at your life, are you yearning for a greater sense of inner peace?

You might not want your life to be radically different than it is now; maybe you want it just a bit different.

Or perhaps you do indeed want your life to radically change you can sense that something is deeply skewed, and it is causing you and your loved ones intense pain and sorrow.

Regardless of the degree of change you desire, you can sense that something in your life is not the way it is supposed to be, and you long to satisfy that restless feeling. You want life to work out as you hope it will.

So whats the solution?

You could always climb another mountainwhatever your mountain is. You could buy a different car, get a new job, move to a different city, get divorced and remarried, buckle down at work and achieve a promotion, go on another diet, quit your job and try another career, try out a different exercise video, down another drink, buy another outfit, or keep looking to find that perfect someone you had always hoped you would find.

Ask yourself this: How has that worked for you so far?

Think about your current strategy to answer your inner longings. Is that strategy bringing about the satisfaction, peace, fulfillment, and sense of purpose you have been searching for? Are you truly at rest in your inner life? Have you discovered what life is all about, and is it bringing that sense of satisfaction and contentment you have always wanted?

If you cant say yes, then maybe, just maybe... the solution is found somewhere else.

THERE MUST BE SOMETHING MORE

The idea of people being on a constant search for inner peace is not a new idea. Hundreds of years ago Saint Augustine described all mankind as having restless hearts. Augustine understood how we all climb mountain after mountain, always in search of meaning. If you have ever felt a longing for something more, you are not alone.

What might this longing look like in modern life today? Maybe, by all outward appearances, your life seems quite successful. You have a college degree, a solid job, a supportive spouse, and a couple of great kids.

But deep inside you are surprisingly uneasy with how your life has turned out. You know there should be something more to life, but you just cant put your finger on what that is. You might not be able to articulate all the ins and outs of your restlessness, but you catch glimpses of it when you try to answer this longing by buying more stuffa new phone perhaps, a new shirt, a new car, another carton of ice cream. Or you crank up your schedule and get busieryou begin a new hobby or you fill your calendar to the breaking point, even with good activities like church. No matter how hard you try, nothing satisfies. What do you do?

Or perhaps there is no hiding ityour life is full of chaos. The mistakes you have made are obvious. Your spouse has left, your kids dont talk to you, and you cant hold a job.