The Great Initiator

Thursday, March 4th, 2010 | Lent Meditations

Truly I am God… I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it. -Isaiah 46:9,11

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. -Philippians 1:6

We love because he first loved us. -1 John 4:19

I can’t seem to get that last verse out of my head: “We love because he (God) first loved us.” Think about that for a moment. We did not start our relationship with God; He did. In fact, the verse implies that the reason we are capable of love at all is because God loved us first. He initiates, and we respond.

I love how Paul corrects himself when he writes, “But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to…weak and worthless…things?” We are known by God. He initiates, and we respond. Henri Nouwen writes:

For most of my life I have struggled to find God, to know God, to love God. I have tried hard to follow the guidelines of the spiritual life—pray always, work for others, read the Scriptures—and to avoid the many temptations to dissipate myself. I have failed many times but always tried again, even when I was close to despair.

Now I wonder whether I have sufficiently realized that during all this time God has been trying to find me, to know me, and to love me. The question is not “How am I to find God?” but “How am I to let myself be found by him?” The question is not “How am I to know God?” but “How am I to let myself be known by God?” And, finally, the question is not “How am I to love God?” but “How am I to let myself be loved by God?” God is looking into the distance for me, trying to find me, and longing to bring me home.

How will you respond to God’s work in you and around you today?

Tags: Lent 2010