An answer that raises more questions

This started as a response to a question on http://www.conversiondiary.com/. I’m continuing with it as an exercise in articulating exactly who I believe God is and who we are in relationship to Him.

God created us because God is love and true love is always life giving, over flowing, profuse. True love seeks perfect union with the object of that love. True love also desires what is good for the one who is loved – so much so that He will sacrifice His very self for this end. God created us out of love, but because He loves us He couldn’t stop there – He continues to long for us. He wants us to share in His divine nature, in the communion of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is also what is good for us. Union with God is where we find perfect happiness, peace, truth, beauty – everything good. Union with God is also where we become all we have been created to be. To be one with God, we have to be like Him, and we need His help. We need contact with something holier than ourselves to become holy. Water cannot boil by trying really, really hard; it can only boil when it comes in contact with a source of heat – something it can’t make on its own. Recognizing this, we can see that God does not require our love and worship out of narcissism. God longs for us to allow Him to make us all we were created to be, but He will never force His love on us. Until we accept our dependence on God, He cannot help us. Those who think they are healthy will not let a doctor care for them – even if they are in fact very ill. Submitting to God should not come from being crushed by the fist of guilt or shame or fear. Opening ourselves to God should be a response to the Love He first lavished upon us. It doesn’t mean serving a cruel, faceless dictator; it means accepting the guidance of a Father who is Love and offers to make us into the same so we can perfectly share in this Love forever.