Ever since sin came into the world with the Fall of Adam and Eve, human beings have experienced an emptiness. Because of this emptiness, the human heart has been left with a void: we are left constantly searching for what we believe will satisfy our greatest longings.
The lies of this world try to convince us that, to fulfill this longing, we need to obtain happiness from material pleasures: money, a relationship, a nice house, the perfect family, etc. As well and good as having these things are, they will never truly satisfy us.
Sooner or later, we come to the realization that these things will never satisfy our greatest desire. The hard truth is that happiness does not come from material pleasures. All these types of love are temporary and will fade away. The type of love that we all long for does not exist on this earth. There is no human being that could ever be capable of such a love.
Until it Rests in You
At heart, all we really desire as humans is goodness. Sometimes we go searching for that goodness in earthly pleasures, which, we come to find out, will never truly satisfy us. It is only when we go to the main source of that goodness, God himself, that we find true satisfaction.
What we neglect to realize is that this emptiness of the human heart can only be truly satisfied by the One who made it. The words of Saint Augustine of Hippo: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you”, reveal this truth. As the human heart was made by God, the only One who can ever truly satisfy it is God himself.
In my own life, I have come to realize this truth. I have gone through seasons of my life when, unfortunately, I forget how good God truly is. I neglect to remember the unconditional, satisfying love that He has for me. I begin to search for Him in other ways that do not truly satisfy.
When I get caught up in this attitude, it is important to remember the love that truly satisfies me: the One who knows me even better than I know myself, the one that constantly pursues me, even when I neglect to pursue Him. It is truly a love that no one deserves. But because He is God, He has given this love to us out of sheer love for us. This truth alone brings me all the satisfaction I could ever want. That someone would love me despite all my brokenness is incomprehensible to me.
Be Satisfied with God’s Love
Lately, God has been reminding me to keep my eyes fixed on Him, even when I am tempted to look around at what other people have. He is calling me to be fully content with Him and Him alone. He keeps reminding me that what He has to offer me is far better than any earthly pleasure. Although finding contentment in God alone is a difficult task, I am finding that it is absolutely possible and extremely worth it.
There is a beautiful prayer attributed to Saint Anthony of Padua that I bring to mind every time I need a reminder of Christ’s satisfying love:
Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone,
To have a deep soul relationship with another,
To be loved thoroughly and exclusively.
But God, to a Christian, says,
“No, not until you are satisfied, fulfilled and content
With being loved by Me alone,
With giving yourself totally and unreservedly to Me,
With having an intensely personal and unique relationship …
… With Me alone,
Exclusive of anyone or anything else,
Exclusive of any other desires or longings. …
… I Am God.
Believe it and be satisfied.
The rest of the prayer can be read here.
The overwhelming realization of Christ’s exclusive and unconditional love has brought me so much joy. When I consider it, I often wonder why He would choose to love me or even think me into existence, for that matter. Compared to His Greatness, I am nothing. I am simply a grain of sand. Even so, He has risen me up. He has called me by name, and He loves me. When He looks at me, He does not see just another one of His creation. He looks at me as if I am the only one that He has ever made and who has ever existed. He does not look at my sin. He looks at me. With love. He brings my brokenness to beauty. He makes something out of me that I could never do on my own.
This thought alone brings me all the satisfaction I could ever need.
4 thoughts on “The Love That Always Satisfies”
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A hearty yes on this article! When I ponder heaven, which is quite often, it is not about physical heaven how it looks, what we do, it is all about the love that is so complete, so perfect, so affirming, sometimes I can’t wait to at the very least get a taste of it now. I wonder if the love we have here, in our lifetime, that we may feel so strongly about will not only be insignificant, but in some regard cease to matter in the presence of God. I sometimes envision crowds of people gathered in front of the Throne of God and they are so awe struck all they can do is stare slack jawed in utter amazement.
I fully understand that hole we all have, cited here in the article, and that nothing will ever satisfy it. It’s rather freeing to get to that point of understanding so that one can end that endless pursuit for something that we will never find here, as well as easing the thought that there is something wrong with us for feeling this way. Sometimes, not very often, I will have a dream in which I can experience this sense of perfect love, a love I can put my trust in, that is true and genuine, and it always leaves me feeling calm, peaceful, and relaxed when I awaken. I wish it happens more often than it does.
Heaven is not where God resides, God Himself is heaven. Whether He is found, in heaven, on a mountain, in a box sleeping in an alley, anywhere and everywhere. Where ever He goes I go and will always be in paradise.
I agree with you! And she wrote a great article.
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