Someone found an abandoned litter of kittens and rescued them, only to discover the next day that one little female had been left behind. She was also rescued, but how traumatizing her complete abandonment must have been! Did she wonder if there was something wrong with her that had caused this to happen to her?
She and her brother were adopted by my son and daughter-in-law. They named her Sophie.
Sophie moved into her new home, and was cared for, provided for, given a safe environment, and complete freedom in her new surroundings. But she quickly and immediately scampered away when anyone stretched a hand toward her. She could not be stroked or picked up. It was a good year before enough progress was made that she would accept love in the form of being held and petted.
I felt the other day that this was a bit of a parable of how we are with God many times. How He has cared for us, provided for us, sheltered and protected us, showed us His love in so many ways!
Psalm 23: tells us that "Surely...goodness, mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life...(Amplified Version). "Follow" in the Hebrew is "radaph" which is mostly translated as "pursue" throughout the Old Testament. So the Good Shepherd's goodness, mercy and unfailing love shall surely pursue me all the days of my life. "Surely" and "shall" are pretty definite words. so there should be no question about it.
How do I respond? Do I shy away because of things I have experienced in the past? Do I blindly accept all the He does for me without seeing it as His unfailing love? Do I focus on my unworthiness? Or do I allow His pursuing love to reach me?
When I complained to the Lord after my husband died that I now had nobody who told me every day that he loved me, the immediate assurance I received was, "I still show you every day and in many ways that I love you." How comforting and encouraging and strengthening that was!
During His last evening with His disciples before His crucifixion, Jesus said, "Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you. Abide in My love" (John 15:9). Abide means to remain, stay or continue.
During supper, He had washed the feet of Judas (although He already knew that Judas was going to betray Him) and the feet all the other disciples (even though He knew Peter would deny Him and all of them would desert Him.) He did this lowly, menial task to show His love in action. Then He gave them His new commandment. He had already taught that they should love one another, but now He made it a new commandment in linking it to how He loved them. "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another" (John 13:34). As they realized His love for them, they would be enabled to love one another.
One of Paul's great prayers is in Ephesians 3. He prays "that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God" (17b-19). He wanted, not just the Ephesian Christians, but all the saints to know from experience all the dimensions of Christ's love which is beyond mere human knowledge or understanding, so that all would be "filled up to all the fullness of God". How amazing is that!
So let's make it our regular prayer that we recognize all the ways our Father shows His love to us. Let's ask the Holy Spirit to remind us frequently of how completely we are loved, how His love surely pursues us. Let's focus on the completeness of His love and not on our perceived condition to deserve it or not.
As we abide in the assurance of His love, we can love on another, and also be filled up to all the fullness of God.
