I can't get no...

Unrest is everywhere. It's hugely evident in our culture, with the over medication of kids and adults, the steady rise of juvenile crime, constant protests. People are not at rest. Nor will they ever be.

Paul admonishes Christians to find contentment in all situations, but he doesn't mean this as an excuse to live a life of blissful lethargy. (I think we all know what he means.) As believers, we have the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. We have abundant joy and the hope of spending eternity with our Creator. But we are still not at rest because this is not our home. While we have peace, we are possibly more painfully aware of the fact that our earthly surroundings do not align with God's original intent.

But the unrest we experience can spur us on to serve our world in a greater capacity to see an invasion of God's original design for his creation. Our unrest should motivate us into a deeper relationship with God, as this world is just not livable without that. Our dissatisfaction with the world is a good thing--it means the worlds isn't good enough, and it's not.

I am not a runner. In fact, land activity isn't natural to this one. I'm a water sports girl. But yesterday I ran and you know that place you hit when all your joints and muscles are finally warmed up and you could run and run forever, or so it seems? I hit that place and ran and ran. But then I realized I wasn't pushing myself so I hauled for a quarter mile to cap off the two mile run. (And yes, this is huge for me. Remember: swimmer.)

As I was running I was thinking about satisfaction, contentment, and unrest. If athletes were wholly satisfied and content, they would never improve nor win anything. Their discontent pushes them because it's the realization that "I'm here but could be here."

It's the same with us. We're here in this messed up world with messed up people. And soon, we won't be. But while we are, our understanding of how things ought to be should act as a catalyst which brings about God's will on earth.