Safely Home and Satisfaction

I recently read a book called Safely Home by Randy Alcorn.  It's a very good book.  It's well-written, enthralling, and encouraging.  I would recommend it.

The story centers around two men, one who is a Chinese man being persecuted for his Christian faith, and the other who is an American entrepeneur who doesn't have a strong Christian faith.  These two are former college roomates, and during the story, they meet up again in China.  The book provides what I believe to be a very realistic picture of what persecution in China is really like.  And it also contrasts that with the luxury of modern day America.

One section in Safely Home that really stood out to me was a part about where we should find our true satisfaction.  It takes place near the very end of the book, as one of the characters is talking with Jesus in Heaven, called Charis in the story.  I thought this quote was especially insightful.

"When you longed for a great house in that world," the King said, "you were longing for my house.  You just didn't know it.  My children there never dream too big, you know.  They dream too small.  Like Ben Fielding once did, they set their sights far too low.  They choose to play in the mud on a cold rainy day when I offer them open green meadows in the sun, clear flowing streams, majestic mountains, and endless beaches and blue skies that stretch to the stars themselves, starts that are gateways into innumerable words beyond.  The sons of Adam try so hard to be satisfied with so little--which keeps them from ever being satisfied at all."

I thought it was very interesting that this quote says that we as humans set our sights too low on earthly things, instead of on the good things God has for us and on Heaven.  I've always thought about this concept in the reverse: we need very little on earth, so we need to be content with less.  I think that's a true and helpful statement, even after reading Safely Home.  But this quote in particular helped me to see that we actually need to want more than we want now.  We need to desire and find our satisfaction in what God has for us, not even the best earthly goods.  We need to aim higher, not lower.

Isn't that an interesting way of looking at things?