Engaging God's World, Chapter 1

I think that Plantinga does a good job explaining how humans long for things on Earth. There are several things that people long for, whether they be material things, fame, physical pleasures, or the desire to revisit particularly fond memories of the past. While people may have intense desires for these things, they often find that these things are not as good as what they thought they would be. The truth is that nothing we can hope for on Earth can possibly satisfy us. The only source of true satisfaction is beyond this world, in heaven.

In our society, there are countless examples of people that pursue things that they strongly desire, only to find that when they have it, they are not satisfied. Some people spend their lives in pursuit of money. They work very hard to build up a fortune, but find that once they do have a lot of money, they aren't satisfied just to sit around and use it. Some people long for sex, but find that the more of it that they get, the less satisfied they are from it. People spend their lives looking for something that gives them lasting satisfaction, but can't find it anywhere. This is why we need to avoid attaching ourselves to worldly things and instead focus on God. The only true satisfaction we will ever get is through Him. Life without God is empty and meaningless. We need to go to Him real satisfaction of our longings.