Our hearts were made for love. All of our lives we search for love -- looking for the perfect love. We long for someone to love, for someone who will love us unconditionally in return. Yet, even when we find love and happiness, deep down inside of us there is still a vague sense of loneliness, of unfulfillment. Why? What is wrong with us?
If we have a vague sense of dissatisfaction with our lives, is it because there is something wrong with us? Or is it simply that we are unaware of our "reason for being"? Our reason for being is that we were made by a loving God for love -- with a longing in our hearts that can, only be filled by Him. We were made for union -- union with God.
St. Augustine put it this way: "Our hearts are made for you, Lord, and they will not rest till they rest in You." The followers of Jesus in the first century were so inflamed by the good news of "For God so loved the world that He gave..." that they couldn't contain themselves. They rushed out and "gossiped the Gospel" to everyone they met, eager to share the gift that had been bestowed upon them. They recognized it (as the angel proclaimed to Mary) as good news for all people, not as a secret to simply hoard away.
But what about us? Are we so caught up in our self-imposed efforts to measure up to some imagined standard of goodness, preoccupied with our own failings, or enmeshed in our unforgiveness of someone else's failings, we've (as they say in Australia) "lost the plot"?
Most homes have a ritual of regularly measuring and recording the height of each child. Unfortunately, all too many Christians still have a measuring device in their heads with which they test themselves.
But God does not have a measuring stick against which we have to stand to see if we measure up. He doesn't keep a "report card" on us, demanding that our actions please Him before we approach Him.
The good news that Jesus' life set us free from the just consequences of our shortcomings needs to become a reality to us. To become aware of how precious we are to God, we accept that we are loved -- "we love, because He first loved us" -- and because it is "true, noble, just, pure and lovely" we meditate on this (Phil. 4:8). We realize that we can run to Him boldly, just like a little child, completely confident of love and acceptance.
God loves us. He adores us. He sees each one of us as a jewel, as the "apple of His eye." He can't wait for us to drop our busyness and simply "1oll on His lap" in adoration and wordless communion.
In Isaiah, likening Israel to an abandoned newborn, God says that "no eye looked with pity on you, you were thrown into an open field," but "I entered into a covenant with you so you became Mine." Then, "I bathed you with water, clothed you with silk," and "put a beautiful crown on your head." Then, "I called you 'Ishi,' which means 'married'."
The God who loves us is still the same. He longs for an intimate love relationship with us. Our loving Bridegroom waits patiently for us, having, made us for love. He is eager to welcome us into His warm and protective embrace.
From the beginning (even before birth), human beings respond to love. As we become aware of God's love for us, we will respond with love to the One who loves and adores us -- because we were made for love!
