In Christ - James Bryan Smith

10 longings we have

“I looked at the ten longings of our soul, that each of us come into this world with a set of longings that we can't find in any other way. We long for them, we want them.

Each of us come into this set of longings that we cannot find in any other way than Jesus.  We see in part, experience partially in the here and now, awaiting for Him to fill the hole in our hearts. 

Ecclesiastes 3:11 - “ He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”

1) There are things like the longing to go home, 

2) The longing to be wanted, 

4) The longing to live an undivided life, 

4) The longing to be loved without condition, 

t5) The longing to live without fear and anxiety, 

6) The longing to be intimately connected to God, 

7) The longing to be forgiven for what we've done, 

8) The longing to find community, 

9) The longing to feel called to a life of purpose, 

10)  The longing to live forever in the new heaven and new earth. 

- adapted from James Bryan Smith

What I've tried to say in the previous episodes is that these are factory-built longings of the soul. We don't have a choice.

These are things we are all going to long for, and we're going to try to have these longings, these needs, these urges, these desires met. And if we'll be in the things of this world, if that's all we got, we'll try. But none of them will actually take care of these needs.”

From Things Above: Glory, Grace and Truth, Nov 29, 2023

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/things-above/id1421285432?i=1000636955565

This material may be protected by copyright.

 “Because in Christ, I discover who I really am. In fact, I've said this many times on the podcast. Paul used the phrase, in Christ or Christ in us 89 times.

Paul's way of identifying who we are as Christians is to say, we're in Christ. And when we encounter that, we say, I am a whole new way of being because of Christ. Who am I now?

I like to put it in positive form. So I say these things to myself all the time. In Christ, I am a member of His sacred body.

In Christ, I am wanted. In Christ, I am loved. In Christ, I am connected to God.

In Christ, I am forgiven. In Christ, I'm made alive and I'm empowered. In Christ, I've been made holy.

In Christ, I'm the owner of my story. In Christ, I am called. In Christ, I am hidden and I will be glorified.

All of the ten longings of our souls are met in the person of Christ. That's what John means when he says we have seen his glory, grace, and truth. Beauty, goodness, and truth.

And our souls say, ah, and then we can say it[…]”

From Things Above: Glory, Grace and Truth, Nov 29, 2023

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/things-above/id1421285432?i=1000636955565

This material may be protected by copyright.