What is the indescribable longing for something, you don’t know what, which makes you wonder if life has purpose. It lives in the back of your mind or really in your heart.
It is like when you are young and gaze too deeply into the eyes of another. You see something that is beyond words that two in love may share. But the desire is more than that and can lead to hope or despair.
But I can’t leave you between hope and despair. First, why despair? If you are sure you can never find this desire, there is nothing but despair in this world.
But the fact that you have this desire contains hope. How can you desire something that does not exist? This would be most cruel. Worse than the one who desires a mate but can’t seem to find the one they seek.
But what if the love, and it is love, is beyond you? That is not a problem to The Lover. He must understand love to create us able to love at all.
So we must become lovers not just beloved. What was the first command? Love God. Why? It is the only way to begin. To love the most lovable one is the easiest love. Then loving people can begin.
Our self-love is misinformed. Can we please our conscience? It wants perfection. When does it ever say you are good enough? The one who says they are a good person seems to be waiting for their conscience to say, “No they’re not!”
Now we can turn outward and begin to love. Love God. This is the first outward turn. The second is to love other people. God supplies this love. But we have to activate this gift. We love unselfishly.
Impossible? In our own strength, yes. But we have met the Inventor of Love. Someone went this far: saying God is Love.
So your desire is not wrong. You want love that heals you. This is the love of God that changes the receiver into a lover. What is this pure love? What is the love that gives without thought of receiving back. Divine love from the Divine Lover.
Some people read the bible and think, “Why is Jesus so different from God in the older parts of the Bible?” I had the same thought for many years. We could put this question as – Why doesn’t God behave like I think he should behave?
The problem is that we don’t understand God. We assume that God’s actions should be understandable. They should make sense to us. But sometimes even our friends act in strange ways and we are not sure why they act like that.
Let us look at the first thing God did. “And God said, ‘Let there be light.’ And there was light.” Now, what exactly does that mean? I don’t know. Light wasn’t. Then it was, because God said it. Let’s take an easier question: What is light? We have had light for, let’s say, 20,000 years. That is enough time for us to figure out what light is, don’t you think?
Well, it travels fast. Like about 186,000 miles per second. It heats things when it hits them. Light consists of photons. Now we are getting somewhere. So these photons are particles, right? Maybe. One guys says particles but the other says, no, it’s waves. Now, it is said that sometimes light behaves like particles: other times, it behaves like waves.
When you ask about the colors of light, they give you a prism and you hold it up and it splits white light into a rainbow. Ooh. I can see violet, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. Don’t forget indigo, they say. Each color is a different wavelength, they say. Wow.
In 1950, a machine was made that intensified light beams called laser beams. These were useful. You could put them in a laser pointer and drive your cat crazy. You could also do laser surgery with them instead of a scalpel. So, we have been able to do amazing things with light without really knowing what it is. Then someone pipes up and says, “That is just visible light.” What do you mean? “There are other kinds, you know, like x-rays, ultraviolet rays, infrared, microwaves and even radio waves. You can’t see any of those.”
Now we have microwave cooking and UV filters in our sunglasses. We know so much about how these waves behave, we can use them for many things. Yet, while we know how light behaves, we still don’t know what light is besides calling it electromagnetic radiation.
My point is this: if we can’t really understand the first thing God created, light, how can we understand the Creator? I am glad we don’t have to understand him. He is not like us in the sense that he is completely good. We are not very good in comparison. He is powerful enough to effect change within people, yet he refuses to force people into doing good. Let’s say we now believe that God is good, powerful and wise. Is that enough? Not a chance. This powerful, good and wise being may want nothing to do with us. Maybe he would remain aloof to our plight as fallen creatures.
The Apostle John wrote that God is Love. He cares much about men and women and wants to help them. He is willing to overlook our messed up situation and move us forward in his plan. Most people like his willingness to forgive them. Some call his plan redemption or salvation. But rather than a return to our original state, like Adam and Eve, he wants to make us better than that.
He will only accept our voluntary involvement in his plan. Jesus said something like this: we think we are free but we are not really all that free. Your God-given freedom will become much more real. If the Son of God sets you free, you will be free indeed.
So, we have a God who loves the people he created. He has a plan to make us to what he had in mind for us. Our cooperation is a must. Can you believe that he is preparing us for a great future? He will create a new earth where goodness can live without restraint. Do you dare to follow his Son, Jesus? He calls you now. He desires your company.
If anyone follows me, he must become as I was in the world. Look at Me and see if it’s worth it. I have finished my course and now you can begin your new life on earth. Follow my path and you will surely end up with me in my kingdom.
Jesus was what a man was supposed to be. And he was in the same situation as you and I. He took no special privilege as the Son of God. He embraced his humanity and began reaching out to all people. And now he is calling you to himself. Why? So he can make you into the best you possible.
Let’s talk about doing good. Can we? It was written that Jesus went about doing good. This tells us a lot. He made it very clear that everything he did was the will of God. This idea of the will of God may surprise you. Isn’t everything the will of God?
This seems to confuse some people. Why does God allow evil to be done? He could stop it. He certainly has the power to do so. It says that in the future he will stop all evil actions from being done by any creature to any other creature. The lion will lie down with the lamb and not in its stomach. Satan will be bound and held from any activity.
So we know that God can and will deal with all evil and it will be stopped forever. But who will then do good? Good angels will do good. But what about people? Those that do good now will do more in the future. What do we need to do to become these do-gooders?
Selfishness is our problem. What if you think that something is good for you? But this same act is bad for another. Let us take an extreme example. Some is trying to kill you but you have the means to kill them first. Should you do so? Stop, you say. Drop your weapon! They advance toward you.
Isn’t it natural to defend your stuff? Yourself? Yes, it is. But there is another nature that Jesus revealed on this earth. That is doing good with all your heart even at your own expense. This is the opposite of our natural state. But this is the great plan of God for people: to change their human nature to all good. It is a job only God could attempt and accomplish.
Where do we begin? We are told to begin with repentance. I don’t think so. The disciples did not begin that way. They began with the attraction of Jesus. He shocked them over and over with his unselfish behavior. Peter had a moment where he said to Jesus that he was nothing like Jesus and that they had nothing in common. But Jesus said to him, we will work together to change the world. This is not a direct quote, by the way.
Jesus said that when he was lifted up, he would draw all men to him. Some say he meant the cross. But he was not drawing anyone at that moment. Others say he meant his resurrection. He spent his time convincing his followers that he was alive mostly. When did he draw all men to himself? It began after Pentecost. Many were draw powerfully then. Thousands.
Jesus draws you now. He draws you to follow his path. He will care for you forever but now is the time for us to begin doing good. How? The same way as Jesus did. What did Jesus do first? He got baptized. You would think Jesus would be the last person to need be baptized. But what happened? The Holy Spirit came down upon him. Again, Jesus needed the Holy Spirit? Yes. How much more do we need the Holy Spirit? This is great gift of God to people. Ask God for his Spirit. Or ask to be filled with the Spirit of God if you have received from God already. Learn to love the will of God like Jesus did. Glory awaits those who follow his path.
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