Here’s the thing I’m finding that I really love/hate about
life lately: choices. I can barely
choose a shampoo, let alone the course of my life. In His lovingkindness, God gave us free
will instead of making our decisions for us, and while I am so thankful for
being given a facet of His creative nature in the act of choosing, I have also
felt the weight of that responsibility recently.
Our choices are all spurred on by motivations- to be loved,
to feel loved, to feel worthy, to feel good, to feel like we made a difference,
to feel important, to feel put together, to feel good enough…you get my
drift. Our choices are spurred on
by whatever concept of our identity we are clinging onto.
Conrad Gilles wrote, "If
you focus on good behavior you will get law and religion. If you focus on
identity, you will get good behavior."
In this post-grad season of life, I’ve had to make a lot of
choices. In the midst of the
crucible of massive life changes and transitions, I’ve made some decisions I’m
proud of, and some I wish I could delete and rewrite. Through it all though, I have been overwhelmed with
this revelation: God continues to choose
us, over and over and over again.
That’s the thing about really unconditional love- it’s choosing someone repeatedly, for all
that they are, for all their choices.
This unbelievable rest
flows into my spirit when I realize that my identity is grounded in that of a
daughter who is chosen, over and over and over again, no matter what my choices
are. His love is steadfast,
unwavering, unchanging. His fights
for my wholeness. He hates sin for me, not against me. And when my choices reflect my
brokenness and human hunger more than the spirit of a redeemed and whole child
of the King, He doesn’t desire to heap pain and guilt on my shoulders; Jesus
already bore that on the cross.
When my choices are lackluster or even sinful, He sends conviction and
love to draw me back to His presence, back to His wholeness, back to life-giving
choices and ways back into freedom.
So take heart, dear ones.
God has chosen and will continue to choose you, in spite of whatever choices
come your way.
He chose you long before
your first breath, when you lived as but a dream in His longing heart.
May this revelation root itself deeply in our spirits, and may it help us to make life-giving choices that glorify the One who never ceases to choose us.
May this revelation root itself deeply in our spirits, and may it help us to make life-giving choices that glorify the One who never ceases to choose us.
No comments:
Post a Comment