Third Week of Lent

03-15-2020Weekly Reflection© LPi

We give the definition of ourselves over to so many things. We allow our society, friends, family, work, social groups, ethnicity, and even institutions define, classify and color how we perceive ourselves. When we listen predominantly to the voices of others, we lose touch with what is happening within our own inner voice. If we listen carefully within, we can easily discover that we are in want and need. We know our incompleteness and also know that loneliness, sadness, and self-images can propel us outward in attempts to fill those gaps. We can become not only victims of our own prejudices but can find ourselves overly self-indulgent in things that can only satisfy for a short time, if at all.

It is no wonder that money and power are things that are so fervently sought after. As long as we can keep a steady supply going, the illusion of fulfillment and satisfaction can falsely persuade us as craftily as a master magician's act. We live with illusions not truth. It is no wonder, then, that some of the wealthiest folks are also really the unhappiest. Whether we admit it, the lies we live and pursue will ultimately expose our superficiality. We all have to wrestle with who we are and what gives our lives purpose and meaning. Learn to listen more deeply, not to what others are saying about you, but to what God is echoing in your heart.

We can easily get confused and misunderstand, not only about who we are, but who God is. Even the disciples and the Samaritan woman at the well missed the point Jesus was trying to make. There is only one Person who can satisfy the deepest yearnings and longings of our hearts — Jesus the Messiah. It is not the work of corporate America that will lead us to happiness or greatness but the work of the soul. We continue to resist acknowledging this and are happier in our world of misunderstanding and illusion.

The life-giving water we truly need doesn't come from the source of a well but from the Source of Life. Only God can reveal the truth of our sinfulness, the superficiality of our pursuits, and the illusions we hold so dear. Only Jesus can save us from ourselves and give us what we really need. If only our heads can catch up with where our hearts know they need to be, then will we find real contentment and life!