I posted this observation in March, 2006. In going through my archives, I read it and felt it needed to make another appearance. Perhaps I'll create a "best of" side bar like the one seen at Malott's Blog.
So without further ado, the post.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Salvation is a Gift
I'm going to divert ever so slightly from my normal commentaries on islam today to share an observation of wanting and sadness. A co-worker confided in me, (and anyone else who would listen I later found out) his pregnant wife left him. I expressed my sympathies and asked what happened. As the story progressed I learned the separation occurred in January and attempts on his part to reconcile (to make her love him again) only resulted in a restraining order issued by the estranged wife. Now, I realize I've only received one side of the story. But as I listened, much longer than I would have liked, I drifted in thought trying to grasp the concept of a love so enormous it borders on harassment. This man is a mess, almost a shell of his former self. Weight loss and sleepless nights are evident in his appearance. My heart goes out to him. We've all loved and lost, but we go on. Time heals the wounds and memories fade. As the day progressed I thought of his desperation, and the restraining order. To what extent was he willing to go to gain the object of his affection? I pondered further, did he want her even if she didn't want to be there, eliminating her free will?
Later that night while in reflection, I thought of the pain our Lord feels every time someone passes away without Him in their heart. God being God, he could have made us mortals totally devoted to Him, could he not? Total obedience to the Creator in a world he made perfect. But He didn't. He gave us free will and the ability to accept or reject Him. God knows all of His creations and I'd imagine His heart breaks every time one of us reject Him. But God will not keep us against our will and we, like the pregnant wife, are free to refuse the gift of His Salvation. Like this acquaintance of mine, the Lord is longing for the return of His loved ones, not by force but of our own free will. True love and devotion.Just an observation.
posted by janice at 3/19/2006 09:52:00 AM
I left the comments out as not to bias future comments.
Enjoy!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
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6 comments:
His heart breaks every time one of us reject Him.
He hurts worse than your co-worker did. But God is much better at letting us go and then gently wooing us back to Him.
Beautiful analogy of God's love.
Thank you Skye, that means a lot coming from you.
I've been struggling with this whole idea of faith for years now and I'm very close to just giving up.
It seems to me to be a gift that some have recieved and some just never will, for reasons which are beyond me.
(mind you, having a very dark past doesn't help much--the idea of being forgiven for it is unthinkable)
So I stumble along, trying to live a decent life and hoping to redress the balance a little. But faith would be a wonderful thing to have.
kg, I'm glad you stumbled on to this post. I hope you can give "it" one more chance, it truely is amazing how the dark past will fade away after you accept the gift.
I would ask that you take a look at 2 books by Lee Strobel, "The Case for Faith" and "The Case for Christ".
You found this post for a reason.
Thanks Janice. I'll look for those two books.
Right now I'm halway through "Triumph" the history of the Catholic Church and it's absorbing stuff.
Thanks for taking the trouble to reply.
No trouble at all kg.
The suggested books will be a great resource for your journey.
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