The previous post "Talking about desire", through a set of events led to a response from Hadassah's relative: Of course my desire for God is weak - He's given us brains that can only just barely understand the potential reward and it's not fun or natively satisfying. My desire to watch a fun movie, go downhill skiing, fly a plane, read a book - are all pleasure seeking, fueled by I don't know what in the human make up that seeks pleasure, but it requires no effort to desire these things! My desire for food/sleep are driven by chemical relations and are perhaps the strongest I have, while I know how to stoke them I don't generally, and spend plenty of effort subduing them rather. But desire for things that are good but humanly costly have to be stoked; to work, be productive, use my life, get up to go running on a dark cold morning, give of my time/money for someone else who isn't my friend, any compassionate response. I only seem to be willing to stoke these either out of (1) fear (a limited no-guarantee life), (2) experience of resulting personal gain (view, fun, health from running), (3) necessity for money(above chemical desire), or (4) some mysterious human spiritual sense of rightness. So where should a desire for the things of the Spirit and God come from? - it would be nice if it fell into the last category, but it seems to be yet another costly duty to be observed: "It's my duty to stoke up a strong desire for the things of God." I don't fully understand heaven, eternity, sin-forgiveness or Jesus' role in such, even heavenly reward - none of it. I can only just grasp enough to get myself out of bed in the cold dark morning and doggedly add "seeking God' to the long list of other costly duties that must be performed for the sake of later reward. So unfortunately, of course my desire is weak! What did He expect? Now, let me taste and see and understand. THEN my desire will be plenty strong, but there is nothing I can do to get those.
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Why?
Probably the best therapy is to express yourself. Why do you think psychiatrists make you lie on the couch and talk, while all they do is murmur "hmmm", "uhuh", or "go on"? Archives
May 2017
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