My daughter and I play a version of hide and seek. Instead of hiding ourselves from each other, we would hide a toy. We would take turns hiding the toy and the other person would look for the toy. One time, I thought of throwing her off. I hid the toy behind me, not in any spot in the house. Needless to say, my daughter looked at places in the house, until I gave her clues that led to me as the location of the toy. The toy she is looking for all along was not outside of me but is "in" me.

     I heard in the radio about an encournter between Pastor Greg Laurie and a man who said he "tried" Jesus but it did not work for him. What is this man thinking? I believe that this man thought of using Jesus as a way to fulfill his dreams. His dream could have been to become successful financially or relationally or whatever else kind of dreams men have. This man looked at Jesus as a teacher who would help him fulfill his dreams by pointing him in the right direction. However, Jesus is not a teacher who points us to a right direction, but one who pointed to himself as the right direction. He did not say to people "I will show you the way to rest, to be freed from your troubles", but he told people "come and walk with me and you will find rest for your souls." Jesus presented himself as the end, not a means to an end. 

     To see Jesus as a means to an end is to see our deepest longings apart from him. To see Jesus as an end is to see our deepest longings in him. What does it mean to see Jesus as an end, and not a means to an end? It means to allow Jesus to lead us, to shape our dreams. It means giving up the pursuit of self-glorification, to carry our cross and follow him to calvary, where he emptied himself to the point of humiliation, being nailed to a cross and dying on a cross. This is the way to resurrection, to the end of death and the beginning of life in God's presence, our ultimate longing. 

     As I look back in my life, I have seen how I have held on to self-glorifying dreams. They were dreams that became a burden to me, and a cause of suffering for my family. Christ has taken my self-glorifying dreams and gave me peace in my soul. May he do the same for you as you give him your dreams. Trust him to give you rest.