The first commandment is to love God.
If we are to love Him, we must first learn about him and
grow to know him. This is how a relationship begins.
So, who is God? He is the creator of our world, Alpha &
Omega, the beginning and the end. He is omnipotent (which means all-powerful)
and omniscient (which means all-knowing). So, basically, he is the ultimate
“been there, done that” being. There is nothing beyond his ability or
knowledge.
He has many names that describe roles He plays in our
life.
For all His greatness and glory, God’s favorite title is
simply Father. He is the father of our spirits. He sent us into this world to
obtain physical bodies and gain experiences that would help us develop faith in
Him and then when our time on earth is complete, he is the being that will
welcome us home.
There is so much that we can study and learn and feel
overwhelmed trying to understand about this great and powerful being. But there
is one phrase found in 1 John in the New Testament that sums it all up in a
word that I think we can all relate to and begin to understand.
1 John 4: 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for GOD
IS LOVE.
1 John 4: 16 And we have known and believed the love
that God hath to us. GOD IS LOVE; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth
in God, and God in him.
GOD IS LOVE. I want to focus on this phrase. What
does this mean exactly? Let’s read a few more verses here in 1 John to complete
this thought.
1 John 17 - 19
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of
judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love;
but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth
is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us.
Love is spoken
of in every context imaginable. Yet here in 1 John chapter 4 I feel there is
clarity and simplicity that is absolute truth and the foundation of the quest
that I am on.
My quest is to
become like my Father, My God.
I seek to be as
He is.
Here I learn in
a succinct description, GOD IS LOVE, so I must BE LOVE as well.
Little children
are often asked, “What do you want to BE when you grow up?” This question is
generally designed to encourage and discover. We want the next generation to be
exploring their soul to see what they are drawn to learn about and how they
want to live their lives. We want to
learn what they enjoy and find ways to support their journey. Even as adults,
when searching for our next step or a new path we might say we are still trying
to decide what to BE when we grow up. Adulting is hard, and maybe our
experiences have not brought us the fulfilment or success we anticipated, and
so we seek another concept to discover another layer of who we are.
This is life, the process of revealing our true identity to ourselves. Each human being is unique and individual. As a parent I have raised four children, and even in their infancy I could identify character traits and unique personalities that helped me understand who my children are at their core. As the world impacts those children, they struggle to know who they are and what their place in life might be. I watch and try to remind them of what I know about their authentic being, but their journey is for them to discover who they are. I already know who they are and what they are capable of.
In much the
same way, I believe, our Heavenly Father knows each one of us and all we are
capable of doing and being. He allows us the process of the human experience,
including the heartbreaking and the horrible parts, so we can discover who we
are in successful moments as well as those difficult circumstances. Through
opposition we see contrast and find deep within our soul the power to rise
above, to change and to seek for something better. But without an obstruction in our path, we
never discover the internal drive that draws us into eternity.
Our infinite
soul is on a quest to know who we are, and what our existence is really about.
But there are two different forces trying to shape the outcome of our journey. We
are continually becoming something. I would suggest that we have a choice to
make in our becoming.
Will our
becoming be an evolution or a revelation?
Let me explain what I mean.
Evolution
is the process of change in all forms of life over generations. To be super
simplistic, there is a morphing that takes place that is perpetuated by various
forces that impact change and even survival. Environmental challenges have an
impact that require changes. Adaptive plasticity develops traits in response to
imposed conditions. This creates resilience to varying environments. That is
very basic.
For my
purposes, if our becoming process is propelled solely by evolution, we are
experiencing change according to influences out ourselves and what the world around us is telling us to BE? Evolving
is living in a survival mode where we adapt according to outside demands, influences
and suggestions. This is a growing process, and indeed we all have
this type of becoming in our journey. We
adapt to survive. But the outcome of who we are becoming is greatly managed by the circumstances outside of ourselves.
Revelation
is a process of disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through
communication with God. When we are in the becoming process through the
application of revelation, we are choosing to become what God has created us to
become. We seek His guidance and adjust
our path according to the promptings of the Spirit. We strive to live the life
God reveals to us and trust His plan over our own. God created us and has planted within each of
us seeds of Eternity. His plan is to help us discover, cultivate and grow into
our Eternal potential. He is waiting to guide us on that journey of discovery
if we ask Him.
Evolution = Outside
influences forcing change to survive
Revelation = Discovering
truth about our Eternal identity and destiny
I felt the need
to point out that we have the agency to allow outside influences to force our
changes, or we can seek to discover our truth within ourselves, through loving
and trusting God and His plan.
As we strive to
keep that first great commandment and love God, we learn who He is and what
that means about us and for us. He is our Father, and we as children of God
have the potential to become like Him. Becoming like Him is an individual
revelatory process.
The becoming
process is something that happens with every thought, and every moment, and
every action or inaction. If we make a conscious decision to grow into the
highest and best version of ourselves, it must be a decision to seek God’s
guidance and help as we learn who we are and what we are capable
of. “With God all things are possible.” (Matt
19:26, Mark 10:27). “Our Heavenly
Father did not put us on earth to fail but to succeed gloriously.” (April 2012 General Conference, How to Obtain
Revelation and Inspiration for Your Personal Life, Elder Richard G. Scott).
We are here to
succeed at becoming like our Heavenly Father.
Our Father,
God, The God who IS LOVE.
We are here to
learn Love.
We learn love
by choosing to think loving thoughts, about others and about ourselves.
We are here to
say loving words and feel loving feelings.
We are put in
families and communities and church callings and employment situations and
political storms that will try and test and challenge our ability to love. We
face health issues, financial difficulties, loss, betrayal, loneliness and a
myriad of faith shaking trials.
These are the
refining fires of our soul and the purpose for our existence.
We are here to
become Love, in every horrible circumstance this world can throw at us, and we
can.
We can if we
turn to our Eternal Father and ask Him to reveal to us how.
How do I live
Love today?
How do I live
Love with these people, or in this circumstance?
How do I become
a conduit of God’s love for those I encounter along my path each day?
How do I shift
myself into a space where I can… not only think love, say love
and feel love which enables others to experience Gods love through me,
but how, God, how can I actually, literally BE LOVE?
I may not know everything, but I know a thing or two
about living life.
I love sharing my perspectives and hope to hear from you, my friends, on how these thoughts may have brought you closer to your authentic and eternal identity.
I am a member of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
The focus of my life is to Be Love, Be
Light and Be Happy.
This is Darlene Matheson. I am a certified
Professional Life & Happiness Coach.
