Accepting the gift

“Nonetheless, the Lord is waiting to be merciful to you, and will rise up to show you compassion. The Lord is a God of justice; happy are all who wait for him.” - Isaiah 30:18

“He doesn’t deal with us according to our sin or repay us according to our wrongdoing, because as high as heaven is above the earth, that’s how large God’s faithful love is for those who honor him.  As far as east is from west - that’s how far God has removed our sin from us. Like a parent feels compassion for their children - that’s how the Lord feels compassion for those who honor him.  Because God knows how we’re made, God remembers we’re just dust.” - Psalm 103:10-14

As I read both of these passages this morning, I was drawn to the idea of how gracious and generous God is with God’s love.  In light of the Easter season, God’s amazing sacrifice and victory in the Resurrection are a part of that desire God has to be in a relationship with us. God moving toward us.

But the more I read over these passages and reflected upon them, the more I was drawn to the implication of our response. In the Isaiah passage, God appears to be waiting for the people to respond in an appropriate way.  It’s as if the gift is there, they just have to realize it and then open it.  And then in the Psalm, God’s love is connected to ‘those who honor him’.  

I think this concept of God’s waiting love is one of many things I love about our theology in the Wesleyan tradition.  We call it prevenient grace.  The idea that God’s love is active in our lives long before we are aware of it or acknowledge it.  But at some point, we have to receive it.  A gift is only truly a gift when it is opened.  For me to receive a box that is wrapped up only to leave it on my desk means that I never really used/understood/accepted the gift from the generous giver.  It doesn’t change the generosity of the one who gave, but more speaks to the stubborn nature of the recipient.  

I suppose the question is this: how do we start living into the available love and grace that is open to all of us because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ? What would that look like in my life and in yours?