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Who are we…REALLY?? We want. We need. We crave. We are definitely part of the “ME” generation. Everything revolves around us….or, at least, so we think. But, take a step back. Look at yourself from outside of yourself. Really, look at yourself. Look at your motives, your cravings, your acts of “love”. What do you see? Do you see selfless actions? Do you see caring and concern? Do you have genuine love and trust in others? Unfortunately, we see someone totally different from who we think we are.

Taking stock of ourselves, we realize that, in our minds, our happiness, our joy is rooted in what WE WANT. We want people to treat us differently. We want our life to be trouble free. We expect people to see us and automatically treat us with gentleness and kindness. Is this really what our world is? What our world needs? Does it really need self-centered people clamoring for attention, expecting respect? Is this the whole reason for our existence?

Take another step back, this time, a big step back. In the creation of the world, a loving God filled the abyss with planets and stars, oceans and mountains, plants and animals…..and US!!! (No matter if you hold to evolution, or big bang theory, or whatever, it takes an infinite, eternal Being to start the process and get it moving.) This Being, this loving God gave us a free will, so that our choices would be just that…”our choices”. He does not force us to love Him. He gives us the freedom to say, “No”. So we can freely say, “I want, I need, I crave” or we can say, “I love”. The former leads us to turning in on ourselves, seeking whatever it is that WE think will make us happy. The latter, the “I love” portion, frees us to see God’s Goodness in ALL of creation. Everything that happens to us, “the good, the bad and the ugly” all stem from this loving God. He is LOVE and truly wants us to understand His love. He is not tormenting us with these events.

We must try to look at the misfortunes that befall us, you and me, not as obstacles, not as the result of a vengeful God who is getting back at us for our doing….whatever. God is not vengeful. He is loving. As such, everything that happens to us, “the good, the bad and the ugly” are truly part of His omniscient, loving plan for us. In our tormented, warped view, we only see the ugliness and the pain and feel like we are being punished. But this is really not the case. We have separated ourselves from our purpose in life, our God. And, it is because of that separation, we see only the pain, the sadness.

Then, how do we look at the troubles that befall us? All the pain and heartaches that we experience…they are acts of love from our God??? How is this allowing us to grow closer to Him, to become part of His infinite love? In that Love, there is a Divine Plan. We don’t know what that plan is, but it is there nonetheless. Our love response is Trusting Him. In trusting our God, in loving our God we really become enmeshed in God. We may someday understand the why. And maybe we won’t. But of this you can be certain, our “yes”, our “acceptance”, our “embrace” of the events in our life are major acts of trust and love in our God. Our life is to be, must be, a continuous acknowledgement of His love for us. Seek Him out in everything that you do, in everything that comes upon you and you will be locked in an embrace that will take you to eternity.

Here are some other Posts that blend with this one. Continue the thread:

1) I’m Fine
2) Are We Free or Not?
3) Happiness
4) Christ Transforms Us