GodSense

Consider the probability that if God exists, God must be perfect as is. If God is perfect, God must have done something, if not everything to perfection. Why then do we live on such a rugged terrain? Why do things go wrong in our lives? Most people are willing to admit that a lot of our problems are due in large part to our own behavior. Nevertheless, accidents happen. People die unexpectedly. Hearts can repeatedly break. As it is, the wear and tear on a person trying to make a go of it in this life can be extreme, and in the end, no matter what we do, we’re all going to die. That depressing thought begs the question: What on earth was God thinking? Could it be love? 2 LOVE There is a simple explanation, and we would benefit greatly if we could remember it when life is hard: our survival depends on love. We must love ourselves enough to find a way to take care of ourselves or we will perish. We must love our children enough to take care of them or they will perish. We must love one another enough to be kind and generous or many will perish. We must love the earth enough to preserve our environment, or we will become extinct. If you think we are here for any reason other than love, perish the thought. We find ourselves in a world that needs to promote love above all simply because it’s the best condition . Correct me if I am wrong, but under any other condition people usually find themselves stressed out, unmotivated, or at odds with each other. Surely God could have created a world with climate control and a population of beautiful people who shared in the abundance of all they required. This would be simple for God. However in order to maintain harmony in this specialized setting, God would have to control all matters of existence so as to insure that no one got hurt. Our behavior would have to be somewhat restricted so every human encounter was a loving and lucrative gesture. And this scenario only works if all people are inclined the same way: to enjoy life according to some peaceful utopian scheme. If what you wanted instead was something different—but then again, in this world you couldn’t do what you want. Notions of personal freedom would be non-existent. Our thoughts would have to be similar and directed by God in order to maintain the status quo. Soon nothing would exist beyond God’s existence…but you’d have to admit, that world would be perfect. The alternative to that fantasy island is the world in which we live, an environment of physical challenges and substances that cycle naturally from beginning to end, life to death and so on. It is natural for the body to age and desist. Some people claim that our bodies age prematurely. The food we eat, the air we breathe, and the thoughts we think are to blame. Nevertheless if we curb our appetites and adjust our thinking, there are still floods, tornados, droughts, power failures, warfare, accidents, and weak genetics to contend with. Life is full of possibilities and there is risk involved. How does one manage to cope with it all? One learns to love it as is. This may be hard to accept, especially if living conditions are intolerable due to natural causes or our own mismanagement. All the more reason: love must be self-induced and promoted. This is the only way. No doubt, some learn the hard way. Love is the answer to the ultimate personal question, “why am I here, now?” Each one of us is here, now, to love and be loved. I suspect not one of us would be here if we had not originally wanted to be. The world is, after all, a jewel of a planet that spins in a universe that is fundamentally friendly. From a distance, this has some appeal. We choose the challenge of living, and we cooperate with our own birth, because in spirit we want to be born in the first place. Then, we further cooperate in bringing more people into the world, knowing full well this isn’t paradise. We want children for the sake of having someone to behold. Behaviorists say we are physiologically “wired” to have children to insure the human race will continue as if we almost can’t help it. Yet many choose not to have children and focus their attention elsewhere. Either way, some expression of love is the driving force, the utmost priority. No one can thrive if love is denied. All of our happiness stems from the love of someone or something, all of our unhappiness stems from the loss of that love. The loss of a loved one, the loss of our health, or the loss of our belongings will explain why life isn’t easy, but life under these conditions will also provide us with countless opportunities to love and be loved, to respond lovingly. If you ever wonder why someone happened to die, the answer is usually obvious: having a heart attack or a fatal accident are reasons enough to explain a person’s death. But along with such tragedy, life provides us with countless opportunities to promote, experience, and facilitate love. For God, love is so simple. For most of us, love can be major, complicated, and sometimes painful. Nevertheless we seem to be drawn in this direction: toward love. Once love is awakened in us, our desire for love seems to be unavoidable. The love of someone or something motivates us every day. There are times when I have resented this fact of life, feeling the whole world is rigged. And yet, I fail to come up with a better reason for being. For God to base our survival on something as precious as love is not too surprising. Love is the one resource for which God has infinite supply. This is a realization I have come to accept and even expect. The love of God allows us the freedom to live as we choose, forgive us our wrongdoings, and surely—if we will allow it—the love of God will rescue our misguided souls if heaven forbid we fall into the thicket. What else could explain the sudden conversion and transformation of a convict who faces a life sentence with no hope of parole? Given the physical challenges of this physical plane of existence, it had to include some modes operandi for survival and I defy you to think of anything better than love. Some people object to using the word “love” so loosely, but human love comes in many forms and has many ways of expressing itself. If you want to restrict the use of the word to refer only to a love that is true, which requires that no ulterior motive, conditions or exceptions apply, true love may be hard to find on the surface of things. Indeed, one must know what love is in order to recognize it. The look on an angry father’s face will not always reveal the depth of love he feels for his son at the time. True love will inevitably accept the son as he is, respect him enough to allow him to do his own thinking and find his own way in life. This must be what God intended, otherwise, none would be free. If we gave up on love, we’d soon give up on life. Every challenge we face is a call to pull upon our own inner strength, and/or to interact with each other. For those who are love sick, love starved, or loveless, love is the cure. If all else fails, the love of God will prevail, whether or not we choose to pursue it. With amazing grace, love transcends the human condition and readily serves to improve the quality of life when we employ it. The most positive outcome to any difficult situation will occur when the motive and resolution is based in love. Only God would come up with plan like this.