Do I need Jesus?
Augustine went to school on borrowed money and with high expectations from his parents. His goals were fame and wealth. He was raised Christian, but decided to leave the church as a teenager because he didn’t see the point. Cycling through romantic relationships, he got his girlfriend pregnant when he was only 18. Famously, he told God, “Give me self-control, but not yet.”
But Augustine was restless. There was a longing in him that couldn’t be fulfilled by sex, alcohol, fame, or money. He achieved his goals yet found himself unsatisfied.
Augustine was born in 354 AD. He became one of the most influential saints in all of Church history.
“
"Our hearts are restless,
O God, until they
rest in you."
Saint Augustine of Hippo
Augustine’s life changed in a single moment of encounter with Jesus. He found what his heart had been longing for: a relationship with his Creator.
We were each created to have a relationship with God. When we sin, we choose our own will over his. It’s like trying to cram a square-shaped block into a triangular hole: it doesn’t fit. In the same way, nothing in this world will satisfy the ache we feel in our lowest moments. Fame sours. Money runs out, and sex, alcohol and drugs only give a temporary high.
You were made for more. You were made for a relationship with God. Only he can truly satisfy the longing of your heart.
