City Life Starter

Written by Paul Lane

The Word

² And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. ³ And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 8:2-3 (ESV)

² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
    and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
    and delight yourselves in rich food.

Isaiah 55:2 (ESV)

³³ For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” ³⁴ They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

³⁵ Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

John 6: 33-35 (ESV)

Reflection

“Our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo

God made us “wanters” and in our original version, we were “wanters” of God.  While that desire was corrupted, our desire for God did not die, we just do not understand it sometimes.  We still have a hole in our lives that only God can fill, though we try to fill it with many other things.  In the end, only the true bread from heaven will satisfy us.  Only true fellowship with the Lord will give us peace.  And only the true voice of Jesus as our shepherd will resound in our hearts.

Some of our wanting can be thought of as Eros, the wanting love. As C. S. Lewis said, it is like the dive that gets us into the water, but once in it, swimming is the thing. That is to say, we have this desire that is intended to move us to action, but that desire is not enough by itself to keep the relationship going on a right track.

“The wanter desires the beloved, rather than the pleasure she can give.”

C. S. Lewis, “The Four Loves”

We must learn to love the thing desired for its own sake, and not for the pleasure it brings. Eros is known to be the romantic love, between a man and a woman. But it is also known to be the same love that one might have for a long awaited meal, like a hamburger. Perhaps we should not be too shocked to see that the Lord prepares a table before us, that we might learn this type of love, as a step in learning to love Him more. So, we can learn to love a thing, but we must learn to love the right thing.

“A garden left to nature will soon not be a garden.  It is the same with our passions.  When God planted a garden, He set a man over it to tend it, and He set himself over the man.”

C. S. Lewis, “The Four Loves”

Here, C. S. Lewis points out that love, our ability to love, and our ability to receive love must be tended.  If you see someone is very good a playing a musical instrument, you might think that they are talented, but if you ask them they will tell you that they work at it a lot.  So it is with love.  You cannot expect your love to be wonderful if you never put any effort into it. So, with this we learn that being a good “wanter” means that we learn to be good stewards of our hunger.

Application

Here is a very romantic song, sung by someone who can be truly called a great singer. It is warm, and touching, and beautiful. Listen to it and ask yourself three questions:

1. Where is his attention? Is it on himself or the beloved?
2. What is the source of his pleasure? Does the beloved have to do something for him to have this pleasure?
3. Is he in danger of expressing too little or too much love? Or is he even loving the wrong thing?

This on these questions in your own life. They are a great way of understanding where your heart lays. You were made to love, so do not be surprised that you love something, or someone. Such love is good, but it will only lead us closer to God if it is well tended, like a well watered garden.

Prayer

Lord, the very thought of You is higher that I can conceive, but You guide me to Your holy mountain. Though I stray from Your instructions, You guide me back to Your holy house. And Lord, when I am unfaithful in my love, You are even more faithful. That I might be the object of Your love is overwhelming to me. Teach me to love as You do. Teach me to be faithful as You are. And teach me to love others as You love them. Dearly submitted to You Lord, Amen.