"While all creation is to be valued, while everything that breathes is to be treated with respect, while the earth itself is a sacred stewardship, everything is not equal. You are not equal. You are human. You are given one life, and it translates into eternity." Erwin McManus Soul Cravings

God has placed longings within us. Maybe this is something new for you to grasp. Most people don't understand why they do the things they do.

Curiosity and creativity drive us to discover and learn more. Success drives us to find meaning and purpose. We sometimes wrestle with dreams, ambition and calling. We remain hopeful, so that when we discover our specific duty, we can fulfill our mission and accomplish something great. Some of us privately hope we accomplished something worthwhile and haven't squandered the one and only life we were given on things that just didn't matter in the end.

God created us for progress and his intention for us has always been that we could be conduits of good. We may find that we are most alive when we are instruments of change and refuse to accept the status quo. Even great humanitarians understand this drive for progress, meaning and purpose but few humanitarians give God the credit for initiating the longing that drives them. We are not meant to live hopeless aimless lives. We can try and insulate ourselves from the problems of the world but in doing so we cut ourselves off from each other. We could say we become less human. When we stop believing the world can become a better place or stop caring about the lives and conditions of others, we lose part of ourselves.

Unless you've been severely jaded, there is something that drives you to either make the world better or makes you feel guilty for not responding. We become jaded because we lose hope. If this is you, try to remember a time when you believed the future would be better. Remember a time when you longed to make a difference. We can't work at changing the world if we are not progressing and becoming better ourselves. The Hebrew perspective is that we are unique. God created human beings in a distinctive act. Only humanity was created in the image and likeness of God. It is God who knows you best because he placed the longings within you in hope they would drive you back to him.

Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23 NRSV