“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11)
From the moment we swim out of our mother’s womb and draw our first small breath, we long for unconditional love. We are hardwired to yearn for it. It is part of the agony of the human experience, for no one, not ourselves, not even our sweet mothers or fathers, can give it to us. We go through life with a sense of anguish, looking for ways to fulfill our longing. We can earn millions of dollars, sculpt our bodies to “perfection” and own all of the best everything, and still our souls will long for something more. We will still yearn to be loved. To be known. To be seen. Fully. We crave to be loved for who we are, exactly as we are. Whether we know it or not, this ineradicable longing is our longing for God. We want the love of our Creator.
God is the only cure for this innate longing. God gives us His love through His Holy Spirit. It joins us together with our Creator who loves us unconditionally. There is nothing else in the universe that can do for us, what God’s Holy Spirit can do. It fills our ache that trails our shadows.
I can’t help but wonder if God is hardwired to yearn for our love. Does He long for our conditional human love, as much as we long for His divine unconditional love? I give God my heart. My soul. My life. I love Him as much as my imperfect humanity allows. I’m so grateful for my recovery that is a gift from His Holy Spirit. I’m grateful for all of His amazing gifts. I’m grateful for the new heart He gave me, and for His spirit that He put inside of me. (Ezekiel 36:26)
