We are made for eternity and so we long for permanence

A week ago, we were in the midst of a historic snowstorm. The snow hit on Tuesday and remained around freezing Wednesday and Thursday. Most of us hunkered down and did not wander far from our houses and by the time the weekend arrived, most of the evidence of the snowstorm was gone.
Life is like that. We are made for eternity and the truth about us is that we are not made for living in this passing world. God created us for union with Him. In His perfect plan, there was no desire or intention for us to live separated from our Father—yet, humanity, by way of our first parents, rejected this arrangement. We decided that we did not want to be in union with God. We thought the grass would be greener on the other side. Our first parents were duped by the lies of the Enemy. They thought God was not their Father, but a tyrant seeking to control them. They were convinced that we would be happier and freer if only we could be liberated from union with God.
God respected our choice. God is love itself and He knows that freedom is a necessary component of true love. God let us embrace the lies and ugliness of the separation from Him. This willful choice for separation is continued through our choices for separation from God.
The sad reality is that we continually discover that we are not happier when we are distanced from God—we simply were not made for that—we are hardwired for union with God and anything else will leave us longing for something else, something more.
We are made for eternity and so we long for permanence. We experience this in our daily lives. We find and enjoy many passing joys, but all of the joys that the world offers us are passing. The only permanent joy, peace and fulfillment is to be what we were made for, united with God.
— Pat Arensberg is the Director of the Office for Evangelization and Family Life. Email him at [email protected]. For more information concerning the events of this office, visit us at mobilefaithformation.org