What's Missing?

    If someone asked you what's missing in your life, what would you say? Would you say, money, a girlfriend, time, friends, creativity, motivation, something else? There is something that you and I are missing that needs to regularly be filled. Any guesses? It's love, and God is love. 1 John 4:8 says "whoever does not know love does not know God, for God is love." So in order to know God, we need to know love.
    When something is missing, our goal is to find it (phone, keys, young siblings, etc). With love, it doesn't work like that, though we try. People have turned to social media, video games, pornography, damaging relationships, and more to get this love. But it's not love people are finding, it's lust, the exact opposite of love. Love and lust is like an apple tree. The good apples grow on the tree while the rotten ones fall to the ground. Love is the good apple you have to climb for, while lust is the rotten apple ready to snatch from the ground. Lust is easier, but it doesn't taste good and causes more damage than good. None of us want garbage fruit when we can eat better, so how can we receive this love rather than taking lust?
    Love is a complete giving of one's self. If you love your soccer team, you're going to practice at 100% every day. If you love your parents, you're going to do things to make them happy. If someone annoys you, you're going to pray for that person. Love isn't this complicated thing, it's simply putting others before yourself. The more you give love, the more you receive it. I mean, how often are you rude to someone who's so kind to you?

    I know we like to blame the people around us, but let's be honest, If God is the most important thing in our life, how could we yell at one of His creations? The bottom line is that when we're missing out on love, it's everyone around you who is also missing out on love, your love.

    Our hearts will never rest until they rest in God. 
       - St. Augustine