Reality therapist assert that there are five basic needs: survival, power/recognition, love & belonging, freedom, fun. Christians (actually Justin thought of it) would take Reality therapy and add another dimension - God.
Last night one of the discussion questions in cell was the feeding hands of God. Justin asked what we were all feeding on, no not food. But what was fun to us, what we went to when we felt like crap, what we were drawn to when we wanted to escape - those are exactly what we feed on. Then he went on to say that we all need God whether we like to admit or not, and the moment we're not feeding on God, we are feeding on something else. Think about it, why do we do the things we do? Are we all aimless mindless beings that wander through our lives being helplessly drawn to things that somehow give us 'pleasure'? To most people it may seem that way, test yourself by answering this question: Why do you do the things you do?
.
.
.
.
.
.
If you answered any of these:
because it is nice.
I dunno.
I just do it la.
Huh?
because la...
chances are you're not aware of yourself yet.
Fact is, human beings are intentional. What that means is that what ever we do is intentional, there is a purpose and meaning behind what we do and why we choose to do those things. So, if I am drawn to the television, after a bad day, all I want to do is to sit in front of the tele and watch. That's my fix, that's what I feed on and I do it because it provides a temporary relief from that bad sucky day. Temporary relief from the things we feel when that God shaped void is empty. Again, I said 'temporary'. Temporary because whether we like to admit or not, we all are born with a God shaped void, and no amount of fixes, can fix that empty crappy feeling you get at the end of a long hard day but God. Those who have tasted God's grace and goodness will know this. But a sad fact is, that it doesn't get any harder to run away from God after we've tasted His goodness.
One person once said, the love of God puts us in awe, but it is the same love of God that scares us. Of the many things in the world, people seem to shun God, run away from Him. Why? I have a few hypotheses, but shall not dive into it now.
This God shaped void is the cause of many a man's fears and uncertainties towards death. Not just because of the life-after-death drama; but there's just so many more tell tale signs,
We all have a God shaped void - the sooner we realise it's there the better. Why fight so hard? The very fact that you're fighting it, means you are acknowledging it exists, cause how can you fight something that doesn't exist?
.
.
.
.
.
If you answered any of these:
because it is nice.
I dunno.
I just do it la.
Huh?
because la...
chances are you're not aware of yourself yet.
Fact is, human beings are intentional. What that means is that what ever we do is intentional, there is a purpose and meaning behind what we do and why we choose to do those things. So, if I am drawn to the television, after a bad day, all I want to do is to sit in front of the tele and watch. That's my fix, that's what I feed on and I do it because it provides a temporary relief from that bad sucky day. Temporary relief from the things we feel when that God shaped void is empty. Again, I said 'temporary'. Temporary because whether we like to admit or not, we all are born with a God shaped void, and no amount of fixes, can fix that empty crappy feeling you get at the end of a long hard day but God. Those who have tasted God's grace and goodness will know this. But a sad fact is, that it doesn't get any harder to run away from God after we've tasted His goodness.
One person once said, the love of God puts us in awe, but it is the same love of God that scares us. Of the many things in the world, people seem to shun God, run away from Him. Why? I have a few hypotheses, but shall not dive into it now.
This God shaped void is the cause of many a man's fears and uncertainties towards death. Not just because of the life-after-death drama; but there's just so many more tell tale signs,
the whole judgment of worth and value (what have I accomplished in my stay on earth? Will people forget me when I'm gone?),
judgment of meaning of life (so what is life really all about? 70 years on earth and then what?)
fears of losing loved ones (I will never see those I love again, will I be all alone?),
uncertainty (what will happen to the people I love when I'm gone?) etc.
judgment of meaning of life (so what is life really all about? 70 years on earth and then what?)
fears of losing loved ones (I will never see those I love again, will I be all alone?),
uncertainty (what will happen to the people I love when I'm gone?) etc.
We all have a God shaped void - the sooner we realise it's there the better. Why fight so hard? The very fact that you're fighting it, means you are acknowledging it exists, cause how can you fight something that doesn't exist?
What's your fix? What do you feed on? How long more are you going to feed on temporal things? Taste and see that the Lord is good... those who drink of Him will thirst and hunger no more.
You are searching for god, the idea of God in his essential being. You seek perfection and it lies in everything that happens to you - your suffering, your actions, your impulses are the mysteries under which God reveals himself to you. - Jean-Pierre de Caussade
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