All You Need

What do you and I value most? What’s the minimum we need to find fulfillment in life?

As so often happens when I read the Bible, a verse captured my attention this month, as if I were seeing it for the very first time. It comes up when the Lord tells Aaron how to allocate the land of Israel to the people. The Lord said to Aaron, “You will not receive any property that can be inherited, and no part of the land of Israel will be assigned to you. I, the Lord, am all you need.” (Numbers 18:20, emphasis mine)

The Lord’s declaration compelled me to ponder the “what ifs?” What if something terrible happens to a loved one? What if we’re in an accident and can’t move? What if the economy fails and we become homeless? What if we’re abducted and locked in a prison cell? What if we become so depressed that life seems pointless? What if we hurt someone? Behind the “what ifs” hangs the question, “How will we cope?”

Philosophers and psychologists say that in addition to food, clothing, and shelter, we need transcendent elements such as 1. love, 2. meaning, 3. a moral compass, 4. challenge, 5. security, 6. wonder, and 7. hope. When the Lord says, “I, the Lord, am all you need,” is He speaking of material, or transcendent things, or both? Does He really mean that His presence with us is enough?

I believe that God provided all we need when He sent Jesus to die for our sins, raised Jesus from the dead, and promised that all who trust in Him will becomes His sons and have eternal life, i.e, the Good News.
1. He loved us enough to make the sacrifice to redeem us and to forgive us when we confess our sins.
2. He gave life itself significance as part of His plan.
3. He provided not only commandments and ethical principles, but He also sent the Holy Spirit to show us right from wrong and to help us resist temptation.
4. He gives us the challenge of using our creativity for sharing the Good News with people, as well as loving and serving them in other ways, too.
5. He provides life beyond the grave.
6. He created a universe so vast, varied, and detailed that it never ceases to amaze us. (All material things come from Him.)
7. He hears and answers our prayers, and He has surprised us throughout history by turning hopeless situations into blessings.

Using the words of Moses (actually an English translation of the Hebrew) as a model for our own prayers, you and I can thankfully say: “Sovereign Lord, I know that you have shown me only the beginning of the great and wonderful things you are going to do. There is no god in heaven or on earth who can do the mighty things that you have done!” (Deuteronomy 3:23-24)