'You have not chosen me, I have chosen you'
The winter is a contemplative space. More time to read, fewer distractions, less call to go outdoors although I always like the idea (without actually doing it) of bundling up and riding my bike and “pretending” it’s summer. That’s the same impulse that leads famous people to constantly get plastic surgery done in order to pretend they're not aging. The obvious work done only highlights the fact they are getting older.
I’m currently neutral on aging except inasmuch as it serves as a remonstrance for things undone. That part I don't much like (though I'm also not fond of more easily acquired hangovers). I understand I can't work my way to Heaven but there’s no doubt I’d like to give a better account on Judgment Day, and preferably out of love.
I recently heard a line from the gospel of John for the thousandth time as if for the first, about how Jesus loves us as His Father loved Him. That is a stunning revelation and can induce tears if truly believed. For many of us, our earthly experience is one of marginal acceptance by marginal groups so it's hard to imagine belonging to a group as elite as the Father and the Son. When Christ walked the earth he and his father were the ultimate clique, as it were, but the secrets they shared were in turned shared with his followers.
To be allowed to break into the clique, to be part of the love between the Father and the Son through the Spirit, is credible only to the extent it is universally offered. And it is! The gift I have been given has been given to all. In fact, I can be assured of it by virtue of it being extended to all because it is proof of his love. I can love other people more easily by realizing that the very fabric that binds them to God – His universal call - is that which binds me to God. If I had a friend who talks behind the back of everyone we know, I'll figure he's talking behind my back when he’s speaking to others. If I know God extends His love to even the most heinous sinner, I can have confidence he extends his love to me. Confidence is increased by quantity, and it’s been said that’s why He chose water as the earthly material of Baptism – that which is profligate on earth is a symbol of God’s profligate love.
No comments:
Post a Comment