FAIRY TALE DREAMS:
Once Upon a Time…
They’re perhaps come of the most widely used words in the world. Stories from all over the globe have begun with them for centuries. Chances are that when I say them in a just few more moments that imagination all over the sanctuary are going to be turned on.
All because of four little words.
“Once upon a time…”
See?
I told you. All over the room people are already having visions in their heads. Children have turned their attention this way because I’ve said them.
“Once upon a time…”
The truth is that when those words are said the imagination is set free. Some are thinking about great adventures. Others are thinking of beauties to be rescued. Others may be thinking of gingerbread men, ducklings that turn into swans, and hobbits that go on grand adventures to the very ends of the earth.
But even as I speak there are those that are already tuning me out. Why would anyone want to listen to a sermon about fairy tales anyway? Real life isn’t anything like a fairy tale. There are no knights in shining armor, no frogs that upon being kissed turn into princes, and no lands that exist on the other side of the wardrobe.
No. Real life is boring. It’s a dismal existence where one day blurs into the next one. Each day goes on and nothing ever really changes. It’s time to grow up and face life as it really is.
You want to know what?
I can’t believe that. I know in my heart that there is something more than just this hum-drum existence. There’s got to be.
You see I have these desires in my heart. I crave adventure. I want to ride the white horse and rescue the beauty in the tower. (I found the beauty a while back. It’s the rescuing part that I still don’t quite have right yet.) I want to be someone more than I am right now.
Chances are pretty good that you want something very similar in your life too. You want to clash swords with a dragon. You want to be the princess rescued from the top of the tallest tower. You want you life to be… different.
But something important is missing. Something is still desired.
The writer of the Narnian Chronicles, C. S. Lewis, wrote these words about the desire he felt, “Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was for another world.”
The truth is that Lewis understood a fantastic concept. He didn’t belong to this world. No. He wasn’t saying he was some kind of alien dropped off by some mother ship. He just knew that the life he was living wasn’t complete. Something was missing. You and I are meant for that other world too. We’re not aliens and yet nothing in this world can’t begin to fill the desires that are so set into our hearts.
The problem begins because the heart feels a longing for another place. It leaves us desiring to fill our lives with something, with someone. And we certainly try to do that. We try to fill it with work. We try to fill it with spouses and children. We put in hobbies, spots, TVs, computers, books, and friendships. And still nothing seems to be able to fill the void.
In the Old Testament book of Ecclesiates, King Solomon talks about just that. He knows that there is an emptiness in his life. Throughout the book he tries everything he can to fill the void. He puts work in there. He tries using the pleasures of life; food, wine, and sex. He had servants, vineyards, fields, and palaces. He gained gold, reputation and status. And yet he begins the book of Ecclesiates with these words in verse 2, “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless!” (NIV) Another version says “Vanity of vanities,” says the preacher. “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” Because all those things had had been putting in were useless. None of it could fill the void in his life.
Some of you know exactly what he felt like. You’ve been in his shoes. You’ve done the very same thing. I know that I’ve been down that path myself. I’ve been at that point in my life where nothing could reach within me and fill that emptiness I felt.
And I’ve come to believe in the last few years that the soul is really crying out for two things. First, I think one of our desires is or a place. The second desire is about a relationship.
You see the place that are soul yearns for is so important to you and I. We know in our hearts that it exists. At one time we had a paradise in our grasp. Way back in the Bible, right at the very beginning, in the book of Genesis, there was Adam and Eve. When God created them he put them in one of the most amazing places of all times. The Garden of Eden. Now this place was truly awesome. Everything Adam and Eve could possibly want was right there. Fruits, vegetables, animals, and most importantly God.
Then came the fall. Adam and Eve disobeyed God. They ate a fruit they’d been told not to touch. And paradise was no longer theirs. They were banished from the garden.
Humans, just like you and me, have been searching for it ever since.
Shhh! Now we’ve got to be real quiet about this. I know a secret. That place, that paradise that our hearts desire is closer than most people think. In fact, Jesus says over in Mark 1:15, “The kingdom of God is near.” It’s close by! It’s near to you. It’s near to me. We can get there.
Oh. But here’s the trick. You see, I’ve read a lot of fairy tales in my time. I know that they all say there are different ways to get other places. But there’s only one way to this place. Just one.
You can’t get there by ducking down some rabbit hole. No matter how often you climb in and out of your closet, you won’t ever arrive there. No amount of bending the time/space continuum will get you any closer. In fact, I’m going to make you a harsh promise. There’s no way that you can ever get there under your own power.
There’s only one way to this place. It comes through a relationship.
If you’ll remember I said the second thing our hearts desired was a relationship.
You see, the place really isn’t that important. In fact when I think about the Garden of Eden, I rarely think of it as a paradise. It’s a garden. Sure there was beauty. But that isn’t what made that place special. What made it special was that God was available.
In my mind’s eye I can imagine God and Adam walking in the garden together. They would talk together just the too of them. There was trust there. There was the promise of love. There was contentment in knowing that someone cared.
And let’s be honest about this. What good is a place if there is no one to share that place with? Ladies, you know what I’m talking about right? What good is the long walk on the beach if you take it with a lonely heart?
You see, ultimately the core desire of our heart isn’t a place. It’s a person. We want someone to be close to. We want someone who will love us unconditionally. We want someone who cares about us like no one else can.
I’ll never forget that when Storm and I first met, we talked about what we desired in our lives. She’d would often ask and I would often say, “I want someone to be able to sit across the table and enjoy a meal with.” I wanted a relationship where someone cared about me enough to be able to watch me, talk to me, and love me.
Deep down, most of you want the same thing. You want a relationship.
Right this moment some of you are asking, “What the heck does a relationship have to do with me being happy? What’s it got to do with my emptiness?”
The truth of the matter is that there is only one thing that’s going to fill that void you feel. That’s a relationship with Jesus Christ. I’m not talking about a religion. I’m not talking about showing up to church on a Sunday and going back to your same old life the rest of the week. I’m talking about a one-on-one, loving, caring, sharing relationship with Jesus.
And I know right now that some of you are already back pedaling. You’re saying, “Tim, that’s not for me. I’ve tried the whole religion thing before and it just didn’t work for me.”
That’s why you need to understand beyond a shadow of a doubt that I’m not talking about religion. I’m talking about a relationship.
But…
Yes. I just said but. You see, there’s a catch.
I just got done telling you that the “kingdom of God is near.” The truth is it’s so close. But there’s only one way to get there. There aren’t multiple ways there. Just the one. Lots of roads may bring to that way in. But only one route will ever bring you into a relationship with God.
Jesus said it, himself, in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really have known me, you will know my Father as well.”
Jesus is the only way to fill the void in your life. You want to know what paradise is like. You have to know him. You want the perfect relationship. The one that you can’t get from anyone else on earth. You have to know Jesus.
That’s it. No amount of wishing is ever going to get you to paradise. There aren’t any bridges that could take you there. The back of the closet wall is always going to be there. Jesus is the only way.
But, Tim, that’s religion. No. Not this time. I’m not talking about rules and regulations and services and missions and activities and a list that goes on and on and on. I’m talking about a walking, talking relationship with Jesus.
So how do you get there? How can you personally find out how to begin a relationship with him?
It’s easier than you think. First you’ve got to realize that you’re a sinner. You’re not perfect. No one is. You’ve made mistakes and you’ve broken the very heart of God. In fact, the Bible tells us, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Everyone of us. We’ve all done it.
Secondly, you’ve got to repent and ask forgiveness. Mark 1:15 goes on to say, “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.”
There’s the third part. You have to believe that Jesus came to save you personally. That he came to have a relationship with you. You have to believe the good news.
That’s just the beginning place. What follows will take you to the very ends of the earth. And further. It was J. R. R. Tolkien who said, “Every good fairy tale must begin with “Once upon a time…” and end with “happily ever after.”
Your once upon a time can begin right now.
Mine began that way. “Once upon a time, there was a divorced, bitter man but God came into his life and began to change him.” I know there a happily ever after coming. But that will wait for another day.
Now’s the time for your “Once upon a time..” Are you ready? It’s a simple step.
Let’s bow our heads and close our eyes. Are you ready to begin? Are you ready for the fairy tale to start?
If so, pray these words with me. “Lord, heavenly Father, I know that I’m a sinner. My life isn’t right. I’ve got holes I can’t fill on my own. But you can. I ask your forgiveness. Just come into my life. Give me a relationship with you. Change me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”
