One man's thoughts about Life, Torah, and Messiah

Objective truth, divorced from experience, is useless.

A few weeks ago, I made the above statement, somewhat off the cuff, yet it has stuck with me. As I have pondered it, I have become increasingly aware of the fact that unless I’m experiencing truth, that truth has no use to me. Let me demonstrate.

I’ve lived my whole live being told that God loves me. He loves me more than I can imagine. In spite of my sin and my ugliness, He still loves me. In fact, He loves me so much that He gave of Himself, sending His son to die in my stead.

All of that is wonderful, and it is absolutely true. In fact, one is hard-pressed to find truer statements. However, these truths (objective truths) are absolutely useless to the one that has not experienced the love of God. They are mere ideas.

Recently, I have found that I know many objective truths that are altogether useless to me. In fact, the above illustration is one from my own life. I long to experience God’s unselfish, undying love for me. I constantly wrestle, because I need to know that God loves me, in spite of me. I need to know that God loves me, even when, no, especially when I am disobedient.

At this point in my life, experience is HUGE. I know a lot. I am a student. I love to study. I relish digging for answers. I enjoy finding solutions to questions that haunt me, and puzzle others. However, much of that is on hold. I want to know the Father’s love.

This quote for A.J. Heschel is appropriate:

The Bible has several words for  the act of seeking God (darash, bakkesh, shahar). In some passages these words are used in the sense of inquiring after His will and precepts (Psalms 119:45, 94, 155). Yet, in other passages these words mean more than the act of asking a question, the aim of which is to elicit  information. It means addressing oneself directly to God with the aim of getting close to Him; it involves a desire for experience rather than a search for information. Seeking Him includes the fact of keeping His commandments, but it goes beyond it. “Seek ye the Lord and His strength, seek His face continually” (Psalms 105:4). Indeed, to pray does not only mean to seek help; it also means to seek Him. (God in Search of Man, p. 28)

God is calling. He says very clearly that those who seek Him will find Him when they seek Him with all their hearts. He has provided the way for us to come close to Him in the person of His Son, Yeshua. By His mercy, and with His help, I will draw near.