For the first time in my life I saw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers. The truth – that Love is the ultimate and highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love. ― Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning
The meaning of life. Some say it doesn’t exist and you simply make your own way. Some say it does exist but must be understood and approached through a rigid belief system. Some say it involves achieving and conquering. Others say the meaning of life is to eat, drink, and be merry.
But some, like Victor Frankl, a Jewish survivor of the horrors of the holocaust, believe the meaning of life can only be found in love.
Today’s episode echoes Frankl’s conclusion as we review the stories from sacred Scripture that encompass our last six episodes together. Scene as a whole, they reveal the overwhelming, never-ending reckless love of the divine God of the Universe as he relentlessly pursues us. And then, we he finds us and we open ourselves to receive his divine love, he shows us how to let it flow through to everyone else.
This flow of divine love into us, through us, and out of us to others is, as we will see, the meaning of life.
The topics that we covered in the last six episodes include faith, pride, calling, holiness, selflessness, and free will. So, where did we see the love?
Let’s find out.
Source Scripture
Take a Second Look: John 4:46-54
Pride Comes Before a Fall: Luke 4:16-30
Adventure Awaits: Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20; Luke 5:1-11
Wholly Holy: Mark 1:21-28; Luke 4:31-37
And You Give Yourself Away: Matthew 8:14-17; Mark 1:29-34; Luke 4:38-41
Pursuing Free Will: Matthew 4:23-25; Mark 1:35-39; Luke 4:42-44
Connect
Twitter: @AwestruckPod
Email: info@awestruckpodcast.com
Extras
The need itself is not the call. Charles Hummel – The Tyranny of the Urgent.
We have all been there. Overwhelmed by the tyranny of the urgent. By the weight of what is pressing. We cannot do what we want to do because we must do what we have to do. It’s enough to make you question whether or not you have free will. After all, if you simply “go with the flow”, and the flow is a roaring river of whitewater rapids carrying you unwillingly downstream, then free will takes a back seat to determinism.
If we have free will, why do we so quickly and easily choose to surrender it? Can we ever escape these incessant rapids, make it to peaceful shores, and set our feet on terra firma?
We can. But free will is not, as we so often think, an isolated exertion of psychic forces to empower a series of selfish choices. No, free will originates in the soul and exists as an ongoing call to choose that which sets us free to divine being.
Free will is a function of the spirit, and as such can only be pursued in the spirit. And because it originates from the divine God of the Universe, we can only exercise free will when our spirit is in communion with His. It is his will, not ours, that sets us free.
Anything else is indentured servitude to the ego disguising itself as free will.
Today, we will take a closer look at how to rejuvenate the powers of free will in order to escape the tyranny of the urgent.
Consider this your free will call.
Source Scripture
Pursuing Free Will: Matthew 4:23-25; Mark 1:35-39; Luke 4:42-44
Connect
Twitter: @AwestruckPod
Email: info@awestruckpodcast.com
Extras