About once a week, our three-year-old granddaughter, Emmie, will crawl up in my lap and whisper nine sweet words, “I want to go to Disney World with you.” I will pull her back from my chest and act like I’ve never heard her say those words before. She will start giggling and I will ask her, “And who do you want to take with us?” She will quickly say, “Omie” (That’s what our grandkids call my wife, Cindy). Sometimes Emmie will include her Mama, Daddy, and Brother, and sometimes she even includes other members of our extended family in her expanded guest list. She watches lots of Disney Princess movies, dresses in Princess clothes, and wants me to pick her up and dance with her when Princess songs come on TV. To say she longs to go to Disney World would be a massive understatement. I’m pretty sure she dreams about Disney World and I know she day dreams about it as well.
There are lots of things for which people long. Some long for happiness.
My granddaughter would say you can find happiness at Disney World. Some long for money. I would say Disney World is a good place to let go of a lot of that money. Some long for freedom. You are at least free to choose between going to Disney World or having money. Some long for peace. Many people who lack peace would say they are constantly worried and anxious about where they are in life and where their life is going. Some long for joy. Joy is the deep settled confidence that God is in control and is at work for our good. For some, that confidence or reality is lacking. Others would say that what they long for is balance. They mean balance between personal life and work life. They mean balance between the important and the urgent. Even more painfully, some long for fulfillment. They are as busy as can be, but do not feel like they are busy doing anything that matters. Their life is bound by the tyranny of the urgent, but none of those urgent matters feel important. Others long to feel confident. Instead, they feel insecure and unsure about who they are and what they do.
This Sunday we will wrap up our “Dinner with Jesus” sermon series in Luke’s gospel by finding our seat at the Last Supper. Jesus was confident in why He came, at peace with the Father’s will for Him, freely gave His life for us, and was joyful even in His persecution. At the beginning of the Last Supper (Luke 22:14-23), we see what Jesus had been longing for. As we move to the last dinner (or supper) with Jesus found in Luke’s gospel, let me simply say this, “I long to see you at church this Sunday.”
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