When people really get into the story of our salvation they conclude that there is a push-pull: God seeks the people and makes covenant with them. They promise fidelity but later drop away from following the covenant with God. They turn towards false gods.
God does not give up on them. Once again God goes seeking for his lost people. The prophets of the Old Testament spell out this struggle in painful detail.
Religious faith is not a once-for-all-got-it event. There are ups and downs there is struggle between God and the people.
No one should be surprised that they experience this struggle within their own life. We may have grown very slack in our religious service. We may block the grace of God by our practice of greed, racism and just down-right violence towards the other.
God does not leave us in our sin and darkness. The Spirit of God is ever active, seeking us, challenging us and looking for us as the parent searches for the wayward adult children.
The story that Jesus gave of the farmer who leaves the ninety-nine sheep at home in the pen and goes searching for the lost (the wandering one) is not some nice story from the past. This is our lived experience today. The lost sheep could be ourselves, or our brother who has completely dropped out of anything religious or the co-worker who is struggling with drug addiction. The lost sheep is one of us, here and now.
You have a co-worker who has been very hurt by his siblings over the settlement of the will and property of their father. He carries deep resentments and angers. His life is so limited by his relentless efforts to get even with this siblings. But the spirit of God is ever acttive in his life to seek healing and restoration. The healing power of the risen Jesus is directed towards your co-worker’s woundedness.
Wherever there is war, the first victim will always be the truth. The bully and the aggressor are waging a propaganda battle to justify their invitation of the territory of a weaker country (which possesses oil resources). How must the heart of God cry out in pain when human beings go to war?
The people of your local church call you to become involved with the life and mission of Jesus. They are asking you to live what you profess. They are challenging when they call you to conversion of life. Obviously, they want you to feel dissatisfied with the way you are living your life today. When they call you to conversion, you experience feelings of resentment. But, is not the call of God coming through their invitation and their concern for your well-being?
Life never comes pre-packaged. God invades our lives. God calls us once again to a new life. We might be slow and resist. But here we are living this tug-of-war between the faithful heart of God and our waywardness.
May God always win!
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