What do we do when we feel far away from God because of our own choices ( I would also wonder if there is any other reason that we would experience God as far away, but that is for another post)? For some reason we tend to think that the Old Testament describes God as a distant and judgmental God waiting to cast us into the pits of Hell, and the New Testament comes along to help us to see God as kind, loving and forgiving. We need to read this a little more carefully.
In Deuteronomy, Moses is giving to the people a history of God's dealings with Israel and passing on instructions for their life together. Moses describes the possible situation that if the people break these laws and rules they will be removed from the land of their inheritance and be distant from God. BUT, "if from there you seek the Lord Your God, You will find Him if you look for Him with all your heart and with all your soul (4:29)...for the Lord is a merciful God (4:31)...showing love to a thousand generations (5:10). God's love and forgiveness have always been available.
When we are far from God it is up to us to SEEK the Lord intensely, with all the energy and focus we can find. I wonder if we would rather sit back and wait for God's invitation to come back. I wonder if we would rather feel rejected and live with he consequences of our actions. I wonder if we would rather just give up and live life without God. Seeking God takes action on our part. Seeking God takes energy on our part. Seeking God takes time on our part. This is not penance to earn God's favor, but focus to work through the distance WE have created. On the other side of SEEKING is mercy, love and a renewed relationship with God.
Tomorrow, let's look at how we seek God when we are far away.
1 comment:
We have become a country of lazy people. If it doesn't come easy we want no part of it. It seems that a lot of us have forgotten about the rewards of hard work. Not only have we forgotten it but were not teaching that to our children. It's the same thing with our faith in GOD. We want our God to serve us though the drive-thru window and if GOD doesn't give us exactly what we ordered then we want to blame him. Too many of us think if God won't fix all of the bad in the world then why should I? Could you just imagine if instead, most of us thought: What part of this world does GOD want me to fix? Then took the action to fix it.
Post a Comment