In the Bible in a Year devotional that I am reading, the discussion is about the universal longing and emptiness we feel as humans because of the part that God used to play, and needs to play, in our lives. We have, as it said, a “God shaped hole” in our soul.
Addictions are very powerful distractions from this “hole”. They mimic the feeling of being filled, happy, content. But they do not last and they destroy the “temple” of our body. The draw is amazing though. On a small scale, consider a nice cold glass of water. Anyone who has been really thirsty knows how good a cold glass of water can be. It is instantly satisfying. Yet despite this very inexpensive (except of course for those who do not have access to clean drinking water) source of refreshment I still find myself drawn to soda, beer, wine, and coffee (lots of coffee!)
When I do have a glass of water it is SO refreshing I wonder why I drink anything else?
A relationship with God is like this. The different and “exciting” feeling of the substitutes for God’s presence are so attractive. But when we DO have God close to us, it is like that cold glass of water! WOW!
This disconnection from God is the profound disconnect from the natural world. Even within science, the wonder that we see in the natural world is meaningful not only when we see its magnificence, but to understand our part in it as a pinicle of creation. We are the greatest of all of God’s creations! (Although, and this may be counter to some Christian teachings, I would not be surprised that we are not God’s ONLY experiment. It is also possible that some of these experiments worked out a bit better! What if Adam and Eve did NOT disobey God on another world? What would that place be like?)
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Mark K.