Scratching Itches

In a world that is constantly pursuing acceptance and love, someone once wrote the following jingle for a commercial that settles it once and for all, “I wish I were an Oscar Meyer wiener, that is what I truly want to be. For if I were an Oscar Meyer wiener, everyone would be in love with me.”

This may be silly but take that phrase apart piece by piece. What I truly want to be is an Oscar Meyer wiener. Why? So that everyone will love me.

The merchants of our day fill the air waves with products that promise to make one cool, accepted, and even loved. Sadly, cars, clothes, relationships, vacations, beverages, and yes, even wieners, cannot deliver that which only our Creator can.

We were born with some internal itches. The desires for love and acceptance are part of the warp and woof of the fabric of our beings. But the itches and the longings of our hearts cannot be scratched or fulfilled with surface or external remedies. The internal needs that we are constantly trying to satisfy will find their fulfillment when we become one with the one who created us, through the person of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

That hole in our soul is a God-shaped hole that only God can fill. When we attempt to fill it with the things of this world, we will find that the hole is a black hole into which our attainments, our possessions, and our dreams continue to disappear. And when we become weary of the pursuits that never seem to truly satisfy, it is Jesus who says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ that satisfies our deepest longings. And best of all, the Gospel is offered to all as a free gift that flows from the love and the amazing grace of God. Regretfully, I too have tried to fill that void with a lot of stuff that never satisfied. Then, one day, I found the One who could fill the void. He not only saved my soul but He has also saved me a lot of money, money that I used to spend on things that could not touch the deepest longings of my soul. Along with that, I also found acceptance and love like I had never known and, I did not need to become an Oscar Meyer wiener to find it.