In the vast expanse of the universe and the intricacies of our very beings, there echoes a timeless question: What should be the true north of our existence?
The answer, while profound in its simplicity, can confound even the wisest of souls. Yet, throughout the pages of history and the whispers of sages, the response remains unchanged: Make God the magnificent obsession of our hearts.
Reflect upon the multitudes of desires that tug at our souls daily. The longing for accolades, the thirst for knowledge, the hunger for worldly comforts. Do they not all, at their core, stem from an innate yearning for something more profound, something eternal? What if our true pursuit is not the transient but the eternal? What if the cry of our hearts is to be wholly immersed in the Divine, to be obsessed, magnificently, with the Creator?
Consider King David, the shepherd-turned-monarch, whose psalms resonate with passion and vulnerability. His words in Psalm 27:4 reveal a heart’s obsession: “One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.” Amidst the triumphs and travails of his life, wasn’t David’s real pursuit to comprehend the magnificence of God?
When one contemplates the lives of spiritual luminaries across ages, isn’t there a unifying thread? A relentless quest to make God the epicentre of their existence? St. Augustine, with poignant eloquence, captures this sentiment, declaring, “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in You.” Isn’t this restlessness, this divine discontent, an invitation to make God our magnificent obsession?
Yet, the world beckons with its siren songs. It promises fleeting pleasures, transient satisfactions. But isn’t there, in the quiet moments of introspection, a realisation that these cannot satiate the deep yearnings of our souls? How often do we chase after mirages, only to find ourselves still thirsty, still wanting? The heart’s cry remains: more. More depth, more meaning, more of the Eternal.
Why, then, should we shy away from admitting, even celebrating, this obsession? Why should we not embrace this magnificent infatuation with the Divine, allowing it to shape our desires, our pursuits, our very essence? For, in this obsession lies our true purpose, our ultimate fulfilment; our quest for God is but a response to His eternal pursuit of us.
To anchor God as our magnificent obsession is not a call to renounce the world. Rather, it’s an invitation to view it through a different lens – a God-tinted lens. When He becomes our obsession, the mundane transforms into the miraculous, the ordinary into the extraordinary, the routine into reverence. Every moment, every heartbeat becomes a testament to His splendour.
Yet, how does one embark on this journey of divine obsession? Perhaps it begins with a whisper, a prayer, a silent yearning to see beyond the seen, to hear beyond the heard, to touch the intangible. Like Moses, our souls might implore, “Lord, show me your glory.” And, in His grace, God may not unveil His full majesty (for can our mortal frames withstand such brilliance?), but He might grant us glimpses, moments of profound intimacy, which will only deepen our obsession.
In the cacophony of our 21st-century existence, amidst the myriad voices vying for our attention, let us tune our ears to the eternal symphony, the melody of the Divine. Let us dare to make God the magnificent obsession of our hearts. For, in that obsession, we will find our truest selves, our highest calling, and our deepest joy. It’s a pursuit worth everything, a quest that promises more than we can fathom. Let our souls resound with the cry, “Lord, become the magnificent obsession of my heart.”
