What is the meaning of this life? This is the big question that we all ask ourselves and it can be difficult to answer. it starts with the question, what are you looking for? For most of us, there will be different answers. A job, a family, a car, to travel. But what do we hope to get out of this? What is the ultimate goal? Well happiness of course. In being human, we ultimately seek happiness above anything, it is why we try to better ourselves and are always questioning things with curiosity. We desire to know, to be loved, to find the happiness that can only be found in God. The big question is then, how do we work towards finding this happiness in God’s love? You know perhaps the feeling of finding that first Love, no matter what age it comes. That person can make you smile like crazy and when you’re with them, you melt. You feel like all of the puzzle pieces fit together, no matter the other craziness that’s going on in your life. There’s a reason we talk about the Church and Christ as a bride and bridegroom. The love experienced in a relationship shows us a piece of what God has in store for us, in true happiness.
Today’s Gospel states:‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your Sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is in travail she has sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she is delivered of the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a child is born into the world. So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father, he will give it to you in my name’ (John 16:20-23).
Jesus Tells us that we will weep and lament for him in his death, but will be happy again. We will find joy in his resurrection. He gives us hope, for every area of our lives. He compares this joy to a mother after giving birth. She goes through so many long hours of agonizing pain, but as she looks upon the face of her child, it is all forgotten. There is no more pain or sorrow or even memory of the past hours but an unlimited amount of joy when seeing the gift of new life before her eyes. This is the kind of joy Jesus tells us we’ll find if we seek it, in his name. In order to do this, we need to have hope, in all moments of sorrow and look forward to the love, the joy that we’ll find in God’s plan for us.
Today’s prayer comes from 'Make Something Beautiful' a prayer for loving one another:
Jesus, help us to see that we are your love letters to a world desperate to be loved. We ask that you would show us that each one of our stories is valuable to your kingdom and that you want to use us to spread your love to the ends of the earth. You have written the gospel love story on the tablets of our heart and it’s a story that needs to be shared. We pray for the courage and conviction to share our personal love letter with others. Amen.
