As much as we guitar aficionados may not like to admit it, there is more to life than guitars. We can sometimes get so consumed with our hobbies and interests that we miss out on the most important things in life. The reality is that one day that guitar collection that we’ve worked so hard to amass over the years will go to someone else. It may stay in our family for a generation or two, but then it will likely go to a person who doesn’t even know our name. That reality reminds me of a story that Jesus told in the Bible in Luke 12:13-21. It says . . .
“Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?” Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Life is short – most of us will have less than 80 years on this earth. We don’t know when our time will come. Are we living for things that are temporal or things that are eternal? The Bible tells us that when our days on earth are done, we will spend eternity either with God or without Him. I think that if we truly search our hearts, we would admit that there is a longing in the depths of our soul for something more that guitars or anything else in this life can’t fill. The only one who can fill that longing in our soul is God. He is our creator, sustainer, and giver of all good things. King David says in Psalm 63:1-3, “O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise You.” God knows the deepest longings of our soul and has made a way for us to know Him in a personal way.
So how do we come to know this God who is better than life itself? The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that we have all made mistakes, we’ve all done wrong things, and that none of us have perfectly kept God’s law. This reality has separated us from God. But because He loves us and desires to have a relationship with us, He made a way for us to know Him. In John 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” God the Father sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to this earth over 2000 years ago to live the perfect life that we couldn’t live and then ultimately bear the punishment for our wrongdoing by willingly dying on a Roman cross. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” Because of Jesus’ sacrificial death, we can have eternal life. The Bible says that we can spend eternity with God if we simply admit our wrongdoing, believe that Jesus died for us, and commit our lives to following His ways. Romans 10:9-10 says, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
My prayer for you is that you realize that life is so much more than guitars – that true life can only be found in Jesus. If you would like to make that decision to trust Jesus to save you, you can simply pray and ask Him to forgive you of the wrong that you have done, tell Him that you believe that He died on the cross for you and rose again from the grave, and commit your life to following Him. If you prayed that, I’d encourage you to buy a Bible and start reading it! It will show you how to live an abundant and full life, God’s way.
If you have any questions about any of this or would like to let me know that you asked Jesus to save you, I’d love to chat! You can reach out to me below.
