Friday, March 11, 2011

Words to Live By



Love Unsought

How do you know that God exists? How do you know that God

loves you? These questions, upon the hearts of so many, have

answers as real as the formative moments in your life.

As I have aged I seem to grow more and more prone to nostalgia.

Many of us do this instinctively, clinging to memories past,

perhaps looking backwards with the hope of seeing a purpose

for our lives.

When I travel to India, I make it a point to revisit time and

again those significant marking points of my own life. As

I recall these moments past but not forgotten, I hear the

gentle voice of the God very much in the present. And God

says, "I was there." "When on you were on your bike

contemplating suicide, I was there. When you

were but nine years old and your grandmother died,

I arranged for her gravestone to hold in time the very

verse that would lead you to conversion. I was there."

It is often in these harrowing moments—your parents

divorce, your child's birth, the death of a loved one—

where God leaves a defining mark.

There is reason you remember such moments so vividly.

We have a choice to hear or to ignore, but regardless his

voice cries out in our memories, "I was there." God has

been in our past. God is here today.

God will be there in our future.

God exists, as Lewis worded it so well, in the "eternal

now." And the psalmist, always writing with feet firmly

planted in time, but arms ever reaching for the

eternal, beautifully explains, "Thou art God from

age to age the same." And while hindsight is often

God's means of gently revealing his presence all

along, we can be comforted in the peril of the moment

nonetheless. As we encounter these markers in

time, our sorrow is held in the beautiful mystery

of one who wept with a friend, who answered her

question "Where were you?" with tears of his own.

Beside Lazarus's tomb, Jesus offered Mary a glimpse

of the present love of God, though he knew a greater

future. God was with you then. God is there with

you now. And He loves you.

William Shakespeare once reasoned, "Love sought

is good, but given unsought is better." How do you

know that God loves you? While you and I were yet

lost and wandering, Christ was wandering after us, by

way of the Cross. And this sacrifice stands as the

greatest marker in all time.

~ Ravi Zacharias

Spiritual Sundays

12 comments:

MarveLes Art Studios said...

Ravi Zacharias is one of my favorites. I am reading his book "The Grand Weaver." Excellent thoughts... love them!

Unknown said...

Sweetie, not all the verbiage is coming thru in your post ...

Happy St. Patrick's Day ~
Have a beautiful weekend ~
TTFN ~
Marydon

CSN GIVEAWAY ENDS 3/17

Jocelyn said...

Thanks Marydon, I fixed it.

Julia said...

Thank you, I needed this post. I do know that God is there for me everyday through good and bad. I wish he would answer some of my questions, but I know they are not to be answered, so I'm trying to quit asking them.

Anonymous said...

Lovely post. So timely, so accurate, so perfect

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing these beautiful words of encouragement. They are so true.
Blessings,
Charlotte

Nikki (Sarah) said...

thanks for the inspiration. Have a great weekend.

becomingwomenofpeace.com said...

to realize He was there all along is very healing...thanks for reminding us.

Ginger~~Enchanting Cottage said...

This is such a needed post for me,thank-you.
Blessings,
Ginger

Wanda Lee said...

What a lovely and poignant post; thanks so much for sharing it with us!..,


Thanks for joining us for last week's TTTT and also for my 73rd, 'Tuesday Tea For Two' also! ~ Your blue and white teaset and pretty teatime vignettes were just heavenly last week!..,

(My apologies;I was out of the office and therefore unable to pop by until now)..,

Have a wonderful week ahead!

Cheers and hugs from Wanda Lee

Pamela said...

I've seen Him in my past, Feel Him in my present and anticipate Him in my future. How beautiful to have this firm knowledge!

Patti Hanan said...

I was very touched by this post. How good to be reminded that God has always been right with us, through times of joy and pain.