The Only Thing that will Satisfy

Its something we have all heard, and know deep down. That God is the only thing that will satisfy our souls; we are made to enjoy him for eternity.
But a lot of times I don't feel satisfied. As Bilbo said in Lord of the Rings when talking about the affect that the ring has had on him, "I feel like butter scraped over too much bread." Maybe this is just a season that I am going through. Maybe its because the holidays just ended. But there are troughs in life that I go through periodically when I wonder if there isn't something more.

Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful for my life and happy with how it is going. But even during the highest of highs, underneath it all I wonder "is this real life"?

Recently I have come to the realization of what (I think) real, true life is. True life is not any accomplishment, any notch on our belt or list of things we've done on our "life resume". True life is in fact only experienced through things you've done that you have done without the purpose behind those actions having anything to do with benefiting yourself.
It is life lived for others, not for yourself. If we focus our eyes on how we can help others get ahead rather than ourselves we will begin to experience life from Jesus' perspective. The ironic thing is, we finally are alive when we are least concerned about living! Matthew 16:25 says-

"For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it."

A lot of the time I am seeking some new experience, something that will lead to the ideal "American Dream" that looks so good on paper but ends up leaving us void. Not that its a bad thing if that's what your life looks like (because mine does) but that should not be what you are seeking. Matthew 6:33 says-

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

It all comes down to the reasons that you do things. Andy Stanley said it another way with "true purpose is found just across the street from what you can get out of it". If we let the wellbeing and cares of others be the driving force of our livelihoods, we will begin to experience the divine. And that is a real, true life that will deeply satisfy.