Before Jeremiah knew God, God knew Jeremiah; "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you." This turns everything we ever thought about God around. We think that God is an object about which we have questions. We are curious about God. We make inquiries about God. We read books about God. We make inquiries about God. We read books about God. We get into late night bull sessions about God. We drop into church from time to time to see what is going on with God. We indulge in an occasional sunset or symphony to cultivate a feeling of reverence for God.
But that is not the reality of our lives with God. Long before we ever got around to asking questions about God, God has been questioning us. Long before we got interested the subject of God, God subjected us to the most intensive and searching knowledge. Before it ever crossed our minds that God might be important, God singled us out as important. Before we were formed in the womb, God knew us. We are known before we know.
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All wise reflection corroborates Scripture here. We enter a world we didn't create. We grow into a life already provided for us. We arrive in a complex of relationships with other wills and destinies that are already in full operation before we are introduced. If we are going to live appropriately, we must be aware that we are living in the middle of a story that was begun and will be concluded by another. And this other is God.
My Identity does not begin when I begin to understand myself. There is something previous to what I think about myself and it is what God thinks of me. That means that everything I think and feel is by nature a response and the one to whom I respond is God. I never speak the first word. I never make the first move.
Before we ate an amazing meal Thanksgiving meal prepared by my amazing wife, I read this section from Run With the Horses by Eugene H. Peterson. Thanksgiving is all about us responding to what we've been given and this section seemed like a good fit.
- Peace
2 comments:
I'm not sure what you mean by 'standard predestinarian interpretation of "you did not choose me, I choose you"' I'm not sure I understand your question.
God is the primary mover in the relationship. We tend to forget that, but I don't think it's a debateable point. That doesn't mean we don't make choices, but every thing we do is a response.
Interesting thoughts. So if God knew us before we were born, is this literal? Did we exist before we were born? Does our spiritual existence precede our physical?
Does God know what we are to perform before we do it? Is our path fixed?
Why are we here anyway if it's all pre-destined?
Do we have anything to prove to God? Or are we here to prove our true nature to ourselves?
Sorry - too many questions. But food for thought.
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