As a novice in the monastery, The Practice of Christian Perfection by Alonso Rodriguez was required readings for all of us. One particular story stands out in my mind, his interpretation of the story of Garden of Eden, of Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit. He said Adam and Eve ate of the fruit not in defiance of God or his commands, but because their hearts longed to be like God.They mistakenly thought that if they ate the fruit, they would obtain what they longed for.
We all have an inner longing to be like God, whether we are aware of it or not. The Gospel of John 10:34 Jesus says Is it not written in your law "I said, you are gods?" Since the dawn of creation, we humans know we are made for something bigger than life, and that life as we know it is only half the story.
Our soul moans and yearns for divinity every single day. Half of our struggle in life is discerning this agony of heart within us, why we long so, and what for. We have to learn for ourselves that image of God. We are made to become as gods, St. Therese says. That is our destiny. We become gods when we reflect the Divine Image.
The Divine Image is before us. It is our task to see, to reflect, to mirror. It isn't something as simple as eating fruit. It is a life-long practice of faith and love. It is accepting the agony of longing knowing it cannot be fulfilled except by more longing. In time, this longing transforms us, and we find that we have fallen in love with the Divine.
To fall in love with God. It does happen. We can seek the Divine to the extent that it means the world to us, that we receive our greatest joy in his service, in singing his praise, in imitating him. It doesn't take our longing away. Instead, it turns us to focus on the desire of our heart, giving us a destination and a Someone.
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