What He offers vs. what we choose to give
Do you like receiving gifts? I know I do, but I’m accustomed to receiving gifts on my birthday and not throughout the year. When you get a gift, do you feel weird about it? Obligated to return the favor? Do you feel more appreciative of someone after they give you a gift?A couple weeks ago I was at my twenty-somethings group and we were talking about experiencing God in a way that we could feel: to know that he’s done something for us. I completely identify with this desire. I’ve long searched for God in a way that I could feel him, because I tend to trust my emotions more than what I know as truth. I know of one time where I have truly felt God’s presence. I was completely grateful for his time. I guess I would say that is probably the only time I truly felt God’s love for me.
Yet, that night at group when we were discussing the desire to feel God, I felt bothered by it. Some of us need to feel in order to respond to God. We’re more prone to respond if we’ve got a good reason. That night, I was bothered by the thought that it would be so great if God would touch us, because then we would really be able to go out and share him with others. Though this is completely understandable, (how can we share about Jesus if we don’t know him ourselves) I felt like we shouldn’t be asking God to do something for us in order to do something for him; but rather we should choose to give of ourselves because of what he has offered.
To explain, I mean we shouldn’t sit around and wait for God to make us feel good in order to live the life of Christ. We shouldn’t serve one another only when people are kind to us, or out of obligation. We shouldn’t wait for God to make us feel happy before we live our lives for him. I know I’m just rambling, but there is something to be said about a person who gives freely without expectation. And I think this applies to our relationship with God. God gave freely before we ever did anything for him. There is great joy in giving of ourselves because of what he has already done- instead of waiting for what we want/need him to do now. I’ve only recently discovered this.
Now, there is something to be said about our emotions, and why they’re necessary. Though I’m arguing that we should not be prone to showing love only when it’s convenient for us, I have always been an emotional person, and usually ruled by those emotions; either good or otherwise harmful. Last night I was going through this book intended for spiritual transformation and I was shocked to come across another book that made me feel like my emotions were not just allowed, but necessary. This book stated that knowledge isn’t enough (the Gnostics had it wrong) and that our understanding of Jesus basically means nothing if he hasn’t gripped our emotions. After all, don’t we all know that Jesus loves us because of how we feel knowing him? This is not to say that if we’re feeling crappy God isn’t there in the midst of it. I know this first hand. It’s just that we need those times of emotional comfort to remind us of the truth (that we have hope in God and glory from him) when we don’t feel it. Our God is a gift; but does that mean he has to keep on giving in order for us to live for him?
posted by CarGate @ 9:47 AM
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