“All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.” – Ernest Hemingway
Have you ever felt like you wanted to share so much with someone but there’s just so little time? Maybe all you’d ever have is a chat as you walk down the street. Or maybe all that’s given you is what little time there is to finish that cup of coffee.
As a writer, I’ve always felt there’s so much I’d like to share. But if I could only tell someone the most important things I think a person should know in life, I think it has to be about my faith in God. God is Love. That is perhaps the truest statement I know. That is also the most life-changing truth a person can ever believe in. And if there are only five things I could tell someone to elaborate on this, it would be as follows:
1. You can really love God like you love another person.
How I pray that everyone can know this! That God is real and that we can love Him like we love another person.
You can talk with God and receive His response. You can feel His presence. You can give Him tokens of your love and you can receive His gifts. You need not be alone because you know Someone walks through life with you. Someone who listens to you and understands you better than your dearest friends.
With God, life is a grand adventure. It is a journey where you’ll discover new things and see fresh horizons. If we can only believe this, it would change everything.
“It’s true that we can’t see God with our bodily eyes. But God becomes visible to us through faith… Believe me. I’m speaking to you sincerely: I used to believe it was impossible ever to fall in love with a God who is unseen; with someone who can’t be hugged and touched. But today, I can affirm with my hand over my heart, that God completely makes up for that sacrifice. You feel that love so much, and those caresses from Our Lord that it seems God is there by your side… I live with God; and despite being on walks, we converse with each other without anyone being able to surprise us or interrupt us. If you knew Him enough, you would love Him. If you were with Him for one hour, you’d know just what heaven on earth is.” – St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes
2. No other person can make you as happy as God can.
Many times, when we fall in love with another person, we think it’s the happiest we can be. But the truth is that no other person can make us as happy as God can. Every other kind of love would pale in comparison with God’s love for us. In Him, we will never be betrayed. In Him, we can fully trust. It is a love that suffers for you and always thinks about your good.
How many times have we been disappointed by the very people who broke our hearts? How many times have we searched for someone who can always be there for us and who will never disappoint us?
If you knew how much God can make you happy, wouldn’t it radically change your life?
“You see God created you and I
to be happy in this life
and the next… He cares for you.
He watches your every move.
There’s no one that loves you
can do that.”
– Mother Angelica
3. Without God, you can never have peace.
We often try to make our way through life by our own efforts. We reach for things we think can satisfy us. But without God, all of the things we could get will never be enough. While we can be amused or mesmerized for a few moments, sooner or later, a certain emptiness will always be there. Without God, we can never have peace.
“I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” – John 16:33, NABRE
4. No matter how badly you think you lived, there is hope for you in God’s mercy.
“O soul steeped in darkness, do not despair. All is not yet lost. Come and confide in your God, who is love and mercy.” – Divine Mercy In My Soul
No matter what kind of life you have lived so far, never think that God could never forgive you. Never ever think that you could no longer change your life for the better. God loves you and waits for you. He died on the cross out of His great love for you. In God’s infinite love and mercy, we find our future and our hope.
“If the greatest sinner on earth should repent at the moment of his death, and draw His last breath in an act of love, neither the many graces he had abused, nor the multiplied crimes he had committed , would stand in his way. Our Lord would see nothing, count nothing , but the sinner’s last prayer, and without delay He would receive him into the arms of His Mercy.” – St. Therese of Lisieux
5. Only by drawing closer to God can you find your true self.
“The closer you get to God, the more you become yourself.” – Jason Evert
The world has blinded us with the message that we can only be ourselves if we depart from God. It deceives us into thinking that by following our every pleasure and desire, we can find who we really are.
The truth, however, is that we can only find ourselves in God. We were not meant for sin but for holiness. We were not meant for fleeting happiness but for eternal joy.
God is the Light that can reveal who we truly are, human beings made in His image and dignity, capable of virtue and true love.
“We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures; we are the sum of the Father’s love for us and our real capacity to become the image of his Son.” (Pope St. John Paul II, World Youth Day 2002, Closing Homily)
Final Words
We may not have the chance to walk together or to chat over a cup of coffee. We may not even meet in person. But I hope that when this article reaches you, somehow, you’d discover the five most important things that can change your life completely. God is real. God loves you. And it is only in His Love where you can find yourself and your true happiness.
“Christ says: I know you through and through – I know everything about you. The very hairs of your head I have numbered. Nothing in your life is unimportant to me, I have followed you through the years, and I have always loved you – even in your wanderings.
I know every one of your problems. I know your need and your worries. And yes, I know all your sins. But I tell you again that I love you – not for what you have or haven’t done – I love you for you, for the beauty and dignity my Father gave you by creating you in his own image.”
– Mother Teresa, The Joy in Loving: A Guide to Daily Living
Check Jocelyn's books:
"Of Waves and Butterflies: Poems on Grief", "Mend My Broken Heart", "Questions to God", "To Love an Invisible God", "Defending My Catholic Faith", and more - click here.
(You may freely quote excerpts from this website as long as due credit is given to author Jocelyn Soriano and the website itakeoffthemask.com)