As for that which is beyond your strength, be absolutely certain that our Lord loves you, devotedly and individually, loves you just as you are…. Accustom yourself to the wonderful thought that God loves you with a tenderness, a generosity, and an intimacy that surpasses all your dreams. Give yourself up with joy to a loving confidence in God and have courage to believe firmly that God’s action toward you is a masterpiece of partiality and love. Rest tranquilly in this abiding conviction.
~Abbe Henri de Tourville (1842-1903)
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
~ paul, The Least of The Apostles, in Titus 3
Oh beloved, it is true. There grows within us an understanding that The Father is a very good father indeed. However, there is a dynamic that both brings us great comfort, and threatens to tear us apart all at once. We say that G_d is good, and this He is.
But… We really have no idea, just how good He is.
We fail and He forgives.
We doubt and He overwhelms our fears.
We begin to believe and He tests us.
We cry and it is His tears that sooth our soul.
We learn and He shows us more.
We laugh and He shares His smile.
We start to love and He lavishes us with the same.
We open our tiny little, balled-up fists – and He pours oceans of goodness into our palms.
We. Have. No. Idea.
It really is something within us. Some sort of tenacious hubris that will not give in to the idea that we are (are you ready for this?) – not just Loved with an everlasting Love. We are liked by G_d. He is particularly fond of us. Each of us. And He does not give that we might like Him back. No, He simply gives from a needlessness of which we have no comprehension.
And then it gets better.
Everything about G_d is not a thing at all. Every attribute and activity and emotion of His is completely whole and simple in its infinite pervasiveness. Said more simply, He is not generous or good to us on occasion. No, He is Who He is, and this does not change.
So, when the wonderful things that He does for us in our asking (and even without our asking) happen, they are not events. Rather, they are simply eternal actions which flow from the state of being of a Being unbounded even by infinity and eternity. So, any measure we could try to put up against His goodness would have to fall pitifully short of the reality of Who He Is.
Can we see it? What does this mean? It means exactly what His Word says: We ask too little, and we simply won’t believe that His goodness and generosity is exceedingly and abundantly beyond our wildest imagination.
So, what if we asked Him for something He has always wanted to give us? What if we have been holding back, thinking the time was not right? Could we just stop? Just ask beloved. Fear not as the tests come and the waiting begins. Just keep asking and know that what He already has in store for you (and me) will make our requests seem a bit silly in their smallness.
Tonight is your night. Time to let G_d be the infinitely gracious G_d He is.
