The Satisfaction of the Father's Love
Good Morning brothers and sisters. This is Dr. James Perry continuing with our series where we seek to
explore the deeper meanings of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the years, the heavenly
Father has revealed many revelations of spiritual truth to me, and I want to share them with you. This
morning we seek to understand the satisfaction of the Father's love.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Satisfaction of the Father's Love
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in
thee. " Isaiah, Chapter 26, Verse 3.
Brothers and sisters, divine love is the supreme spiritual reality. It is the unified quality of truth,
beauty, and goodness. Satisfaction is something that we all crave, and we all are familiar with
temporal satisfaction: it doesn't last. The satisfaction that results from doing the divine will, however,
is an eternal quality that remains deep inside the soul and does not ever subside. Jesus says, "Come
unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and
learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." By coming to
Jesus, we experience the satisfaction of the Father's love even as he did.
It is not strange that doing of the Father's will should give our souls supreme satisfaction.
Satisfaction in general is the reward for achieving some worthwhile goal. The sense of achievement
gives a sense of satisfaction. When we eat a delicious fulfilling meal we experience satisfaction. We
are filled with the momentary feeling of every thing being right. In the spiritual sense when we
experience acceptably doing the Father's will, we have this eternal sense of everything being right--
everything being true, beautiful and good.
Sometimes this satisfaction goes awry. Sometimes children and even adults become estranged from
their fathers and their friends. This leaves a feeling of dissatisfaction in our lives. And it becomes
a sour point, an area that prevents wholeness. The disharmony that results from estrangement is a
peculiar type of psychic pain, that is just a real as physical pain. The fact the people learn to live with
this kind of pain does not change its devastating effect on the soul and personality. Relationships are
an end in themselves, not a means to an end.
Estrangement always causes one person to withdraw from or modify the relationship. In whatever
manner it is done, the object of the estrangement feels the dissatisfaction of having the relationship
changed. Sometimes there is nothing that can be done about an estranged relationship when the
barriers to removing the estrangement consists of wounded pride. But at the heart of all estrangement
lies the absence of divine love. Qualities of understanding, sympathy, compassion, tolerance, and
sometimes forgiveness and mercy sponsored by divine love prevent all disharmony. Divine love
simply will not allow for estrangement or misunderstanding to attenuate fellowship.
And whereas nonspiritual (purely humanistic) relationships do provide a measure of satisfaction,
they cannot endure the strain of imperfections found in others. Divine love not only tolerates
imperfection but loves the imperfect one unconditionally. Divine love is something that mortals are
just beginning to appreciate because they are beginning to take seriously the mandate of perfection:
to be perfect even as the heavenly Father is perfect. It is only while striving to obey this mandate that
divine values and meanings are acquired through our relationships. Like all spiritual reality, the
greater the contrast between the perfect and imperfect, the greater the spiritual revelations and
satisfaction. Thus we see that our relationships with our brothers and sisters should never lead to
estrangement for the simple fact that estrangement cuts off divine values and meanings and the
satisfaction that would have been revealed in those relationships.
Once estranged, we may deceive ourselves in thinking we have moved on, but we do so without
those divine values and meanings essential to our progress towards perfection. Without realizing it,
we have delayed our growth and development. Now must we await another opportunity where we
will be given the chance to relate to another contrasting personality. We cannot build a monument
of truth, beauty, and goodness when significant portions of these supreme qualities are missing from
the monument of perfection that we will someday enjoy.
Estrangement causes a deep dissatisfaction that emerges in the "still of the night of" as our souls calls
out for the missing brother or sister. Each time the soul calls out and there is no answer, the soul calls
only louder. We try and suppress it, though, thus distorting our personality and undermining our
character and integrity--literally starving the soul of those divine values and meanings on which it
needs to thrive. We cannot be free when we participate in estrangement, and neither can we
experience spiritual satisfaction as long as we knowingly permit disharmony to continue. If we are
serious about doing the Father's will, becoming perfect as he is perfect, then we should be quick on
our end to repair ruptured relationships.
When we are in right relationship with the heavenly Father, we are also in right relationship with our
brothers and sisters. And just as the heavenly Father does not experience estrangement from his
children, neither does the brother or sister allow estrangement with others to be apart of their
spiritual consciousness. Because we are material and temporal beings, we cannot escape the material
and temporal consequences of those who refuse to love us divinely, but unless we refuse to love
them divinely, there can be no sense of spiritual estrangement in our spiritual consciousness.
The divine values of truth, beauty, and goodness are too precious to have them tarnished by an
unforgiving and intolerant heart. We are all familiar with the experience of seeking forgiveness from
one who refuses to forgive. It is a horrible situation to be in. We are also familiar with the experience
where a loved one refuses to acknowledge their wrongdoing towards us and seek forgiveness. But
the spiritual consequences of someone not offering forgiveness when it is sought, or not seeking
forgiveness when it is needed, belongs to the person who refuses to forgive and to the person who
refuses to seek forgiveness--not to the one who seeks forgiveness or who forgives.
It is important to understand that the relationship with the Father is the right relationship, and this
relationship is characterized by love, mercy, and forgiveness. And it unfailingly manifests itself
externally to others; it is a righteous relationship, which always imparts satisfaction. This is why if
we would enjoy divine satisfaction, we must be in right relationship with our brothers and sisters
whether they are in right relationship with us. Spiritual satisfaction is what makes carrying out our
moral responsibilities a joyous obligation, filled with truth, beauty, and goodness. It is the result of
doing the Father's will, which is both spiritual and moral. It is what makes life worthwhile and even
happy.
This concludes today's message on the satisfaction of the Father's love. We hope you find something
in this message to ponder and pray about as you go about your day.
Until next time, this is Dr. James Perry
Inspirational Messages
By Dr. James Perry
Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done!
The Satisfaction of the Father's Love
