Friday, March 23, 2012

Lenten Devotion for March 23



"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; 
he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him."  (Luke 15:12)

From The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming 
by Henri J. M. Nouwen 

For most of my life I have struggled to find God, to know God, to love God.  I have tried hard to follow the guidelines of the spiritual life—pray always, work for others, read the Scriptures—and to avoid the many temptations to dissipate myself.  I have failed many times but always tried again, even when I was close to despair.

Now I wonder whether I have sufficiently realized that during all this time God has been trying to find me, to know me, and to love me.  The question is not “How am I to find God?” but “How am I to let myself be found by him?”  The question is not “How am I to know God?” but “How am I to let myself be known by God?”  And, finally, the question is not “How am I to love God?” but “How am I to let myself be loved by God?”  God is looking into the distance for me, trying to find me, and longing to bring me home.

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