Because we are created by God, each of us has a hunger for Him. It can be denied; it can be masked; it can be distorted. A person can dismiss the need for God entirely, claiming that there is no proof to satisfy his query. One might cover up the desire by doing altruistic things and feeling good about himself. Moreover, people abandon God because they have a wrong conception of Him.
Pope John Paul I said:
The one that many are fighting is not the true God, but the false idea of God that they have formed: a God who protects the rich, who only asks and demands, who is envious of our progress in well-being, who constantly observes our sins from above to enjoy the pleasure of punishing them!... God is not like that, but is at once good and just; father also to prodigal sons; not wanting us poor and wretched, but great, free creators of our own destiny. Our God is so far from being man's rival that He wanted man as a friend, calling him to share in his own divine nature and in his own eternal happiness. And it is not true that He makes excessive demands of us; on the contrary, He is satisfied with little, because He knows very well that we do not have much... This God will become more and more known and loved, by everyone, including those who reject Him today, not because they are wicked (they may be better than either of us), but because they look at Him from a mistaken point of view! Do they continue not to believe in Him? Then He answers: I believe in you! (A. Luciani, Illustrissimi, pp. 17-18)
God never abandons any of us. We are the ones who leave Him. To be open to Him Who is ever with us, we must be humble and pure of heart. Humility destroys that tendency to make God fit into my own idea -- who I think God should be. Purity is the antidote to selfishness, to self-seeking pleasures that clutter the heart. Impurity dulls our ability to see God. It makes one impervious to obvious truths and to the heavenly inspirations which our Father gives to him.
Let us always strive to be of good will with the right intentions. Let us make good and frequent use of Confession in order to keep our hearts open to God Who always loves us. Then, our hunger for Him will be satisfied, and we can even lead others to the truth.
