We are made to know and love God.

The philosopher Nicolas Malebranche, born in seventeenth-century France, spoke the words “We are made to know and love God” not as a mere theologian but as one who beheld the divine order written upon the soul itself. To him, human existence was not a random spark in the vast void of being — it was a deliberate creation, shaped for a sacred purpose. In those few words, Malebranche revealed what he believed to be the deepest truth of our nature: that our intellect seeks truth because it longs for God’s wisdom, and our heart seeks love because it longs for God’s presence. To know Him is to see rightly; to love Him is to live rightly. All else, however dazzling, is but shadow and echo of that eternal reality.

Malebranche, a disciple of both Augustine and Descartes, believed that all knowledge is found in God — that our minds do not create truth but participate in it. When we reason, when we glimpse beauty, when we are stirred by compassion or awe, we are, in truth, touching the hem of the divine garment. The world is a mirror, and through its reflection, we see the face of the Eternal. Thus, when he said that we are made to know and love God, he meant that every motion of our spirit — every search for meaning, every yearning for beauty, every act of tenderness — is a homing instinct of the soul, drawing it back to its divine origin.

Through the ages, saints and seekers have discovered this truth in the fires of experience. Consider Saint Augustine, who wandered through pleasures and philosophies in restless pursuit of fulfillment. It was only when he turned inward, crying, “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You,” that peace descended upon him. His life became a living echo of Malebranche’s teaching centuries later — that our purpose is not to possess the world but to be possessed by God. Everything else satisfies the body for a moment but starves the soul in eternity.

Even in modern times, this truth remains radiant. Think of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who found divine love not in theology or debate but in the faces of the dying poor. She said, “Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.” Her knowledge of God was not born of books but of service; her love was not abstract but incarnate. She fulfilled the very essence of Malebranche’s words: to know God is to recognize His image in all beings, and to love Him is to serve that image with tenderness and humility.

When one lives apart from this truth, life loses coherence. The mind, untethered from divine wisdom, becomes clever but not wise; the heart, detached from divine love, becomes hungry but never full. The modern world, filled with noise and distraction, often mistakes comfort for happiness and data for understanding. Yet beneath its glitter lies a quiet ache — the ancient longing to return to the Source. Every soul, whether it admits it or not, is a pilgrim searching for the same homeland: the eternal embrace of the One who made it.

To know God is not merely to study doctrines or memorize scriptures; it is to awaken the inner sight that perceives truth wherever it shines. To love God is not merely to speak of devotion, but to act in love toward others, for they, too, are His image. Knowledge without love becomes pride; love without knowledge becomes blindness. But when the two unite, the soul burns with the steady flame of divine wisdom — a light that no shadow can quench.

Therefore, let this be the lesson: You were not made for gold or glory, but for communion with the Divine. Every moment of study, every act of kindness, every silent prayer is a step upon that sacred path. Seek truth not to boast, but to behold. Love not to possess, but to give. Live as one who remembers where they come from and where they are going — for the end of all journeys is God Himself.

Practical actions: Begin each day with a thought of gratitude to your Creator. In moments of confusion, seek wisdom not in noise but in silence. When tempted by vanity or anger, ask yourself, Does this bring me closer to knowing or loving God? Treat every person as a reflection of the divine presence. And when night falls, look within and whisper, “I was made for You, and my heart will not rest until it rests in You.” Thus, each day becomes a prayer, and your life itself — a living answer to Malebranche’s eternal truth.