I am becoming convinced of something in my spiritual life. The reason I, we, often choose to walk in darkness is because we fail to understand the love of God for us. We do not grasp on a heart level that Paul's prayer for us is not only a nice notion to consider, but truth that we need to live in light of daily:
"Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God." -- Ephesians 3:17-19
God's desire for us is completion. He wants to satisfy our every need and desire, yet we run from it. We long for it, yet it terrifies us. We want to experience wholeness and redemption and freedom, yet we flee from him. Why? When he is the Source of Life, Creator, Healer, Redeemer, Righteous One, Lover of our Souls; He is the King...
I am grieved by the choices I make in my life that contradict the trueness of his love for me. In the same way, for friends that "opt out" of their relationship with him because they have suffered or because they don't believe that they are strong enough to walk faithfully. The truth is, none of us are able to live the Christian life on our own. We need him! We need the power of his Spirit to guide and direct, lead us, change us and provide us with the ability to walk in the light. Paul reminds us of the folly of walking in our own strength:
"Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. 2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. 3 How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? 4 Have you experienced[a] so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?" -- Galatians 3:1-4
God so desires that we experience his love for us, love him and share that love with others. How can we walk with him when we think it's about us -- our circumstances, our needs, our desires? Don't get me wrong, God cares deeply about where we are and where we have been, yet he longs for us to know him, to be free from the things that bind us so that we might know his love and walk in light of it. Our lives are transformed as we do this and so are the lives of those around us.
Today I've been reflecting on the lives of people I care for tremendously. In thinking through choices they are making it reminded me of the way I run from God and I am deeply saddened by this reality. He is such a merciful, loving Savior. His love is great and he is so faithful to us even when we aren't faithful to him. How can I run from such an incredible Lord and Friend? How can they? I just feel such a sense of compassion towards the hardness of heart that exists in my life and that of others sometimes. We miss the point. He loves us. We can stand firmly in that love, secure and unwavering, because it's truth.
It is the love that changes our lives.
