Satisfaction part 3
As long as we think our satisfaction comes from getting something we don't have, we will never be satisfied. Because in Christ we already have it all. So if we are approaching life from a position of (perceived) lack, then we will never be able to enjoy what we've got. If we're always looking outside in order to try to find something, then we'll miss out on what's already inside. And what's already inside is the only thing that CAN satisfy us! Without the Holy Spirit (or, on this side of the cross, without the knowledge that we have the Holy Spirit) it feels like we have a God-shaped, love-shaped hole inside of us. And we'll do anything to fill that hole. Until we understand the six course meal that Jesus prepared for us in the presence of our enemies (the Six Steps to the Throne that He took both for us and as us on the cross) we will eat and drink whatever we can earn and we will hunger and thirst again. But when we drink the water Jesus gave us, it flows out of our belly. And that's the key to truly being satisfied. Satisfaction doesn't come from what you get. It comes from sharing what you have! We don't really receive God's love until we release it. Things aren't real until we share them. It is more blessed to give than to receive. We think we need something in order to be satified, but really we simply need to wake up to what we have... wake up to who we are. And who we are is Jesus. God in the flesh. Love in a body. And what we DO with that love is... we give it away. We love others with the love that we are loved with. We bring others joy, and therein we find our own joy. We bring others happiness and therein we find our own happiness. We love others and therein we find love. See, if you love someone in the hopes that they will love you back... then A. you're setting yourself up for disappointment and B. you don't really understand love in the first place. Love does not say, "I'll scratch your back, you better scratch mine." Love says, "You've got an itch? Let me take care of that for you." Jesus said it like this, "Therfore when thou doest alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward" (Matthew 6:1). If you're loving in order to be loved then you've missed the point. You don't love in order to be loved. You love because you ARE loved. You don't get a reward from loving people. Loving people IS the reward. You won't ever find satisfaction if you're trying to get it, or earn it. Because there will always be one thing you lack. If it's external, it's never enough. But when you understand that it's INTERNAL, when you understand that the Kingdom of God is within you... Righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost... then you can stop trying to get something. You can be satisfied with what you have. And you can satisfy others by sharing what you have. By showing them what THEY have. By shining the light. By loving others with the love that you are loved with!