We said at the beginning of this series that there are inescapable cravings in the core of every human heart. These cravings cannot be ignored, denied or pacified: they must be satisfied. They are universal and give us insight into the way God designed us.  We have so far discussed five of these cravings: the craving for fascination; the craving to be enjoyed by God; the craving for beauty; the craving for worship; and the craving for community. And today, we are going to focus on the craving for purity. There is something within the human heart that detests the ugliness of sin. When this craving is not fulfilled in God, we are left empty, with pain, mourning and dissatisfaction. 

Even in a perfect, sinless environment of Eden, God said, “It is not good for a man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). Though our land is crowded than ever before, people feel farther away from others. Most of us live closer to our neighbors, in terms of distance, than at any time in life, but we feel farther away emotional than we’ve ever been. Too many people feel as though they have no close friends. No one really knows them. No one shares their pain or their joy. Like the air we breathe, human community is a necessity. We are created for community, formed for fellowship, and none of us can fulfill God’s purposes by ourselves.

We are made in the image of God. And we have an inbuilt longing to connect with God. Nothing that is transitory can ever fill this need. To fail to connect with God is to fail to be completely human. Nothing that is not God can ever hope to take the place of God. And yet because of the fallenness of human nature, there is a natural tendency to try to make other things to fulfill this need. Created things are substituted for God, and they do not satisfy. 

There is something in the human spirit which detests feeling ugly. We exert much energy and spend a great deal of time and money to fix the things about ourselves that we consider less than attractive. When you become a believer, you weren’t merely saved from Hell. You were made to be beautiful and to show forth God’s beauty to the rest of creation forever. Something happens when we realize that our longing for beauty is truly God-designed, and thus look to Him for the fulfillment of it.

We were created by a God who sincerely enjoys us in a personal way.  While we most naturally look for fulfillment of this in receiving affirmation from others, our true longing to be enjoyed is rooted in our desire to be enjoyed by God Himself. When we understand this truth, our hearts become strong and bold in response.

The fascinating God created us with a need to be fascinated. In every human spirit there is a craving to marvel. We long to be filled with endless wonder. God placed a sense of awe in the core of our design. The secular entertainment industry has identified this longing and targeted it commercially. Even at its best, however, secular entertainment is no match for the fascinating God of the universe.

There are inescapable cravings in the core of every human heart which cannot be ignored, denied or pacified: they must be satisfied. They are universal and give us insight into the way God designed us.  He hard-wired us to need, to want, and to find our satisfaction in Him and Him alone. To understand these cravings is to better understand both our struggles and the true purpose of life. When these cravings are not fulfilled in God, we are left empty, with pain, mourning and dissatisfaction.