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
You and I have need of the strongest spell that can be found to wake us from the evil enchantment of worldliness.…How little people know who think that holiness is dull. When one meets the real thing, it is irresistible. C.S. Lewis
In the movie Sixth Sense, for those fortunate enough not to see it coming, there is a point in the story that awakens the viewer to an altogether new reality – to abandon an existing framework of thinking altogether in order to adapt a new one that instantly resolves all of the unanswered questions and makes the story make sense.
But for the story to make sense, we need that sixth sense. For the pieces of the story to fit all together, we need an altogether new way of thinking. To resolve the unanswered questions, we need a renaissance of resonance.
When our lives are out of balance, centered in the ego instead of the soul, we experience frustration. Confusion. Despair. And most often we assume this to be the case because our outer world is not in proper orbit around us. This assumption drives a paradigm of frantic manipulation of people, possessions, and small green pieces of paper.
But what if this is not the way? What if our paradigm is all wrong? What if, like Galileo as he gazed through his telescope, we realize that we are not the center of the universe?
There is a new paradigm that, once embraced, suddenly brings the meaning of life into focus. This sixth sense helps everything make sense. This altogether new way of thinking makes everything in our lives fit all together. It resonates with all that we long to experience, and has the power to usher in a Renaissance that renders our lives rapturous.
This paradigm is called holiness. Our modern world has largely misunderstood holiness, relegating it either to an antiquated, irrelevant way of living or to a rigid regimen requiring self-flagellation.
But holiness is neither of these things. Holiness is the foundation of soul-centered living. It is the underlying armature that pervades Jesus’ teaching on the kingdom of heaven. And it is the way of thinking that, once adapted, will make your entire life – your story – make sense.
Source Scripture
Wholly Holy: Mark 1:21-28; Luke 4:31-37
Connect
Twitter: @AwestruckPod
Email: info@awestruckpodcast.com
Extras