A Whole New World Awaits

Disney
has done it again. Perfect casting and memorable songs brought to life in the
newest of live-action reboots, Aladdin.
I wasn’t much into the animated version, but with real people on-screen, I felt
the emotion.

During
the magic carpet ride, the central theme of the movie hit me. It’s a tale of
identity – truly discovering who you are and becoming that person.

[There are no movie spoilers in this post and this is not a movie review, but I do give
Aladdin a thumbs up.]

Each of
the main characters struggled in their unique ways to live out their truest of
identities. I think it's the same for us. We sometimes feel out of
place or we feel the urge to go against the flow. The person we are deep inside
points us to a place that is often different enough from the norm that becoming
that person is an uphill climb. But I’m writing to say be brave. Be that
person.

I’m not
saying to be that doctor, or be that philanthropist. I’m not talking about
vocations or even greater pursuits. I’m writing about something deeper. Deeper, yet simple.

God gave
us an emptiness in our hearts that He wants to fill. We may not recognize it as
such, but He gave each of us the sense that there is a future after life on earth.

I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race.
He has made everything beautiful in its time.
He has also set eternity in the human heart;
yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Ecclesiastes 3:10-11

➧ Do you feel it – your heart confirming the reality of eternity?

We long for
meaning and purpose and answers, and we fill our longing with many things:
accomplishments, popularity, things that money can buy, things that money can’t
buy… But deep down inside, we realize that none of these things satisfy perfectly.
Deep down inside we know that eternity begs for our attention.

While the
on-screen Aladdin romance flourished during that magic carpet ride, I fancied the promise of new life for the young couple. But during that scene, God reminded me that He, Himself, can
show us the world, as the feature song repeats, but He’s
more interested in giving us a whole new world instead.

So, let’s
ride the magic carpet for a moment, and look at our world from a different
vantage point. Look around at what we’ve accomplished. Look at where we’ve
been. See the journey we’ve planned in our hearts. Consider life and the future.
See it all with eternity in mind.

Deep in
our hearts, there is an emptiness. King Solomon, the wisest and richest man of
his day, wrote the verses above about eternity. He also wrote this:

I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
and this was the reward for all my toil.
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless,
a chasing of the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.

Ecclesiasts 2:10-11

“All
vanity and striving after wind? Nothing to be gained? Those are some heavy
words. But it gets worse! Solomon continued in verse 17, ‘So I hated life…”¹
Solomon had it all and he sought to satisfy himself in many ways, yet he hated life. His
pursuits came up empty.

If you
recognize this void in your heart, let God fill it. He reserved that empty spot
for Himself. If you’re tired of searching, look closer. He’s just a reach away.
Find yourself in Him. Be who He made you to be.

God can
show us the world, though He probably won’t. But He can show us who He made us to
be. He can fill the void and give us purpose. He knows us better than anyone
can, and He sent His Son, Jesus, to reconnect us to Himself.

In the
Garden of Eden, God walked and talked with Adam and Eve. He enjoyed spending
time with them. Everything was good. But Adam’s bite of the forbidden fruit
separated all generations from God (Romans 5:12). So, God sent His Son to pay
for Adam’s sin, and every sin each of us would ever commit. Jesus died to pay the
penalty for our sins, but He rose from His grave and conquered death (1 Corinthians
15:20-22).

When we
believe this, God sees us as sinless and we can share eternity with Him. Our
emptiness is filled with His forever love, and we enjoy a whole new world today and
forever.

A whole new world
A new fantastic point of view…

A whole new world
A dazzling place I never knew…

(partial lyrics to A Whole New
World by Brad Kane and Lea Salonga, Aladdin: Original Motion Picture
Soundtrack, 1992)

God is
reaching down to us to fill our hearts and give us a whole new world.
Open your heart to receive Him.

Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

Psalm 34:8

¹(Only God Can Fill the Void,
from Hunger & Thirst Devotional by Dr. Tim Clinton, November 28,
2016, https://www.drjamesdobson.org).

If you want to know more
about God’s love and how to have a relationship with Him, please email me at
authordlv@att.net. You may also want to read more about God's gift of salvation here.

Read more blog posts here.

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