Benefits in God

The Ultimate Satisfaction: Becoming Like God

To be satisfied ultimately, you must become holy like God, perfect in love, having eternal life and full of good works. Anything less will not satisfy. “An ultimate commitment to anything less than ultimate will not ultimately satisfy,” says author Norman L. Geisler in a presentation titled The Importance of Knowing the True God.

Indeed, to fulfil your full potential by reflecting God’s image, your future must be secured in the kingdom of heaven. Therein lies your ultimate satisfaction. God is eternal. So is His kingdom. By becoming saved, you too can have eternal life, with access to God’s kingdom forever and all its abundant benefits (see the chapter titled: “Salvation: Life in Abundance Forever”). Significantly, anything less than becoming like God in love, holiness, perfection and immortality will lead to disappointment. Indeed, the more like God you become, the more you can become satisfied ultimately. But you must first know God.

“We can’t be like God unless we know what God is like,” notes Geisler (be sure to contact him for the excellent presentation: www.normgeisler.com). And we know from the Bible that God is love. To know God truly, we must love. “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:8, ESV, emphasis added). Thankfully, God helps us to get to know Him. We just need to be sincere in seeking Him and He will take care of the rest (see the chapter: “The Knowledge of God” and Psalm 145:18).

God’s help is essential because our own strength, our own wisdom is inadequate. So the Lord helps us with the Holy Spirit to empower and enlighten us. Through the Spirit, we become born again. It is only by being born again that we can enter the kingdom of heaven (see the chapter “Born Again: Rebirth into Eternity, a Fresh Start”).

The Holy Spirit comes to dwell within believers, taking us step-by-step through the things we need to change to become more like God in love. The Spirit helps us on the journey to becoming more loving and less hurtful to others.

Perfection: Loving Like God

Loving like God does require meeting a standard of love, of perfection, that’s difficult given our weaknesses. It certainly takes more than human strength to love like God. That is so true, especially since it may involve loving your enemies, not just your friends! And that’s why we need the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of power, love and self-control (see 2 Timothy 1:7).

“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” so said Jesus (Matthew 5:44-48, NASB, bold emphasis added).

God’s way of perfection anchored in love, if embraced by all, can produce a perfect world. But not everyone sees things God’s way. That is why so many people are doomed to unhappiness and dissatisfaction. Through God’s way, assuredly, you’ll find everlasting satisfaction.

Embracing God’s Way

By following God’s way, we are saved from the second death. Believers gain eternal life, inheriting the kingdom of heaven and its many great benefits. Anyone with a mindset or lifestyle that ignores this simple fact about life and death is asking for disappointment and disaster.

But for believers, the focus through the gospel of salvation is on God’s everlasting kingdom. Believers, therefore, possess a God-given sense of calmness through life’s storms (see the chapter “Peace beyond Understanding”). Consequently, the ups and downs of this present life do not faze believers. We are empowered to remain content regardless of the conditions. Believers operate under a divine assurance that all things will turn out good for us eventually (see Romans 8:28) – praise God!

The Danger of Rejecting God’s Way

But all things won’t turn out good for those who do not love God or walk in His way of love. For they show evil works, doing harm to others, hence cannot claim to be “called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28, NASB). Condemned to the second death, unbelievers miss eternal life. Death shortchanges their dreams, aspirations and satisfaction. There is no genuine satisfaction when you end up dead, with no hope for salvation.

The bottom line is this: the soul that sins must die (see Genesis 3:3, Ezekiel 18:20 and Romans 8:13). All humans are guilty. We have all fallen short of God’s glory (see Romans 3:23 and Romans 5:12-19). In our fallen state, we don’t make the cut to fit His image of love, perfection and holiness. So we all are condemned to die forever, except those saved by God’s grace through Jesus Christ – praise God!

At one point while on earth, the Son of God posed this very crucial question: “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul” (Matthew 16:26, NKJV)? In essence, if all your strivings in life leads to great achievements (from a human perspective) but leaves out the fate of the soul, you basically have gained nothing.

You need more than worldly achievements to satisfy the deep yearning for eternity that God has planted in the human heart. There is certainly more to us than our body. In all, we are spirit, soul and body (see 1 Thessalonians 5:23). Any pursuit in life that ignores this basic fact will fail! Why focus on taking care of the body solely? Why neglect the soul? Why neglect the spiritual realm? Why ignore eternity?