Agape

There have been so many thoughts and emotions, teaching and notions in my head the past few weeks, yet none of them are cohesive enough to post online. I'm learning about discipline, self talk, self control, the sufficiency of God's Word and so much more. Today I was burdened by a conversation I had with a friend. At first I was praying about her relationship with God, that she would let go of all of her past issues and just find peace in Him. I kept asking that she would do this or stop doing something else... that she would seek God and find him. And then I thought of a quote from the movie Forrest Gump.

Leuitenant Dan is on the S.S. Jenny with Forrest and he asks, "Forrest, have you found God?" Forrest in his glorious innocence, replies, "I didn't know I was supposed to be looking for him."

Wow.

In the midst of our searching, we have to realized we've already been found. I can pray for my friend to choose God, but that's not how it works: He extends his love and grace to us. We can search high and low within ourselves to find satisfaction, but true grace is given, not discovered.

In this book I'm reading, The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World, David Wells says, "The movement of Eros (the greek word for lustful love) spirituality is upward. The movement of Agape, (the greek word for divine love) by contrast, is downward. It is all about God finding the sinner." Salvation is not forged but given.

I'm not saying that those who earnestly seek the Lord won't find him. But I find peace in knowing that God found me, and that I have no power over the salvation of others and that I get no credit for His work. He alone has the power to change hearts and transform lives. There are so many things I've yet to understand about the mystery of God; so many theological questions I have. But for now I trust the Lord to carry these burdens until I'm strong enough to carry them myself.
I refuse to give up on my friend, however I must be patient in the Lord's perfect timing and trust that He alone sews eternal hope into the fabric of human life. And I am no seamstress :)