Grace - Freedom from Addiction 9

We experience Life when we experience His life.

(I hope you'll take a minute or two to read this.)

Each of us, in some way, has at some point in our lives tried to find Life in something other than God.  We've defined goodness on our own terms.  We've believed that happiness is something we can find and provide for ourselves.  We have taken pride in our accomplishments, but we have also at times purposefully ignored the uneasy feeling that there still remains a lack which cannot be fulfilled through our insight, efforts, or activities.  I'm not saying that we can't be momentarily satisfied, because we can.  I'm not saying that it's wrong to look for happiness in friendships, fine dining, beautiful mountain ranges, a favorite pastime, or a job well-done.  But, if you'll be honest, you know it's never enough; those things can never impart a sense of contentment to us that will last beyond this lifetime.

That's precisely why we still sense that lack--because only the contentment that comes from an eternal source will satisfy us. It must come from a source greater than ourselves so we are not only filled up, but also overflowing with Life.  The weighty truth is simply this:  only through the life of Jesus Christ can this happen.  We experience Life when we experience His life.

But give us time: we'll look for Life in something or someone other than Jesus. As a products of our culture and society, we've embraced what they offer to us as happiness and goodness and we've learned either accept those offerings or adjust our definitions of those ideals to fit our own desires. Gerald May puts it this way:

If I do something that makes me feel good, I am likely to do it again.  If I keep doing it, and if it keeps making me feel good, I will probably make a habit of it.  Once I have made a habit of it, it becomes important to me and I will miss it if it is taken away.  In other words, I have become attached to it.  The most important behavioral insight into addiction, then, is that attachment takes place through a process of learning.

In my next email on this topic, I'll share a quote with you that will hopefully bring much clarity as to why seeking happiness in anything other than God Himself is so damaging to us as individuals.

I pray that you will see Jesus as your sole source of Life and be willing to change how you've thought about Him.  In relationship with Him, we find the best of everything for our lives.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

May, Gerald G. Addiction and Grace: Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions. San Francisco, CA: HarperOne, 2005. Print.  p. 56.  The above quote may have been edited for clarity and understanding outside its context.