But we are inflamed with lust. From the Garden, all the way to today, humanity is often driven by passionate, intense and visceral longings. These longings are the unquenchable thirst for “more”. Lust is desire gone mad; seeking to satisfy nothing but itself, and is never satisfied. But there is another way.
Galatians 5: 13-14 says:
Brothers and sisters, God has called you to freedom! Hear the call, and do not spoil this gift by using your liberty to engage in what your flesh desires; instead, use it to serve each other as Jesus taught through love. For the whole law comes down to this one instruction: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Lust isolates us in a cycle of self-serving desire. Love, on the other hand, offers us freedom from ourselves; opening us up to others, purifying our desire, and directing us toward a passionate pursuit of goodness and peace for all. Jesus spoke plainly, demanding that you “Love the Eternal One with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind,” and that you “Love your neighbor as yourself.” As we love others, the Spirit that lives within us is active, liberating and transforming our desires to more fully serve the True and Living God. You, Ecclesia, have been made to love.
Daily Reflection:
What we most deeply desire is revealed in our actions. What unhealthy desires in your life need to be reoriented toward serving Jesus and his Kingdom?
Read 1 John 4: 17-21. How will you live in love this week?
Daily Prayer:
Lord God,
We confess that our hearts are divided.
We long to serve you, to live in your light,
but cling to our comforts and vices, our dark corners.
Shine brightly in those places, God.
Remind us that we are safe in your arms.
Remind us how loved we are, always, at this very moment;
That we’d let your love flow through us,
freely to all whom your will places before us.
Free us to love as we have been loved.
In gratitude and hope we pray,
in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.