A World without Windows

C.S. Lewis once said, “If you find within yourself longings that nothing in this world can satisfy it can only mean you were made for another world.” This explains why shows such as Unsolved Mysteries, Touched by an Angel, and X-Files have enjoyed such long standing runs on television; why the song “Higher” by the band Creed stayed at the top of the charts a few years back; and why so many are fascinated with angels, aliens, psychics, and metaphysical healing. Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us that God has “set eternity in our hearts,” which means that we were created and designed for something higher, something transcendent, something out of this world!

Modern culture, however, with all of its technological advances and scientific sophistication, has created a “world without windows.” Traditionally, according to sociologist Peter Berger, human life was lived with “windows to other worlds.” Historically, people recognized that there was Someone bigger than their capabilities, Someone to appeal to beyond themselves, a larger purpose to life reaching beyond the immediate, beyond this world. But in a world without windows, the natural replaces the supernatural, the physical replaces the spiritual, the temporal replaces the eternal, and “what is seen” replaces “what is unseen.” God, transcendence, and mystery become less and less imaginable. Everything becomes a matter of human classification, calculation, and control. Everything is produced, managed, and solved “this side of the ceiling,” which explains why so many are restless and yearning for otherworldliness.

If you listen to the cry of our culture, you will hear people who are tired of “up-to-date” structures and “cutting-edge” methodologies. People are beginning to understand that life’s meaning extends beyond the “bottom line.” Many are becoming increasingly wary of the latest “techno-trend,” and complaining of how impersonal modern life has become. They are desperate to recover a world with “windows to other worlds.” Their cry is for something completely unique to this world, something only faith can provide.

Faith is “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Heb. 11:1). Faith, in other words, gives us the eyes to see that this world is not all there is. Faith allows us to know that we are not left to the resources of this world to satisfy our otherworldly longings. But faith in and of itself is not enough. Our faith must be placed wisely. Hebrews 12:2 tells us to:

fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

According to the Bible, Christ is not only the provider of faith but the perfecter of faith. He not only gives us the eyes to see that this world is not all there is, but he also empowers us to live in this world with the next world in view. If we place our faith in Christ and what he accomplished on that “old rugged cross,” he not only provides for our otherworldly longings but he also promises to usher us from this world to the next safely and soundly.