Why do the longings of our heart never cease? We love and lose, only to love again. Or we love, and keep loving, only never to be really fulfilled by that which we love. We're made with a love tank, it seems, and its need to be filled. Like my kids, I grieve when things that bring me temporary happiness are gone. Therein lies the rub, huh? I tend to focus more on that which is temporal rather than that which is eternal. I spend more time thinking about ___. Fill in the blank with whatever your heart desires...fame, fortune, sex, food, perfection, status, toys, bigger-better-newer-faster toys, the perfect golf swing, the perfect kid, the position, the club, to be "in" instead of "out" of the "in" whatever the "in" is at the moment as far as you know for right now, etc. The list goes on. Don't get me wrong. I think God wants us to find pleasure with things in our lives, but with a proper perspective. When will I realize that the "things" I allow into my love tank are there for my temporary enjoyment, not my ultimate fulfillment? With passionate devotion, why don't I cling to the one where love itself finds its source?
I'm weak to temptation and arrogant about doing life my way. Still, my heart gravitates to so many things that won't fulfill my love tank. They won't, because they can't. We claim things, they don't claim us. The fact is, "things" don't endure because "things" have no obligation to us. We bring the things into our world. How ironic is it that God began his redeeming relationship with his people not with a proposition, but with a promise. "I will be your God." He committed Himself to us! In spite of ourselves, He claims us. I need to trust my fulfillment to come from the one who promises to be my portion. Out of gratitude, I should faithfully cling to the author of my being who promises to never leave me nor forsake me. My love tank was created to be filled, ultimately fulfilled, by the very one who created it. Maybe if I meditated more on the spiritual rather than the temporal longings of my heart, I'd actually be more free to love! My ultimate fulfillment wouldn't be contingent upon the existence or absence of something or someone that isn't constituted to meet that need.
God's presence creates a fulfilling love that produces a peace that passes all understanding. He keeps and completes His promises. That gives me hope. Our heart longs for that presence because His love is the only love that has no end. He doesn't leave us, because He can't. We exist in His world. How full is our love tank, and who or what do we trust to fill it?
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