“I believe that the Love of God will be victorious in my life today.”

Love is a popular topic of conversation. Even within the church there is much talk concerning love. But few of us can say with any certainty that the Love of God has radically changed the way that we live. The Love of God, it seems, is a good thing to ask for, but borders on the imaginary. It doesn’t have a bearing on “real life”.

We have convinced ourselves that we are actually doing just fine without seeking the Love of God. Mild, pious requests should be offered from time to time. But, they are not essential for practical living. After all, I’ve woken up, gone to work, eaten my food, enjoyed my family and friends during times that I sought God’s Love and during times that I haven’t. God’s love, after all, pours out upon the just and the unjust. Why, if God’s love is so readily available, should we seek after it? Don’t we already have it?

But, in actuality, we do not live good lives without God’s love. The evidence is all around us: alcoholism, pornography addiction, a constant need for mental stimulation, an unceasing desire for the next best thing, the lack of true satisfaction that persists in so many lives. Even though we think we can “get it done” without God’s love, when we look at the facts, our efforts are failing miserably.

Our spiritual state is that of the heroin addict. We don’t realize our need for prayer, Eucharist, worship, fellowship, and growth because our spiritual receptors are being constantly numbed and treated by the constant flow of stimulation in our lives. Like the addict, our bodies begin to decay because of a lack of nutrition. We are not compelled to leave our current spiritual state because we have become shut-ins. We are no longer seeking after God. We feel no need, no desire, nothing.

So why do we not experience the love of God powerfully in our lives even though it is always present? “Because,” as William Law has so aptly said, “we have no real desire for it.” The desire level of our soul has been stunted by our incessant desires for other things. Today, more than ever, we are in need of simplicity. It is through the subtraction of desires and needs that our desire for God and our desire for his love will increase. We often talk about needs and wants. Let us understand, we need God’s love, we want everything else.

Seek His Face Always