When I am enjoying a good book, I find myself thinking of the characters. They are so alive to me that I think of them even when I am not reading the book. I wonder what they are doing during the day. It is as if the story is on pause and they are about ordinary life until I get back to them.
I wonder if I treat God the same way. Is God only real and alive to me in those times when I give Him attention? Do I think I animate God in the same way I animate characters in a book?
In a recent issue of The Word Among Us, I read a reflection about the parable of the man who provided a great dinner and invited many guests (Luke 14:15-24). This parable is normally thought of as a story about God inviting all humanity to the banquet of heaven. But this author looked at it in a different way, suggesting we could imagine that each day God sets before us a great feast and invites us to join Him. God is actively inviting us to experience life, to come to Him in prayer, to do good for others, and to follow His path. He is actively with us and beckoning us, not lying in wait.
To know that God is actively looking for me rather than thinking He is waiting for me to acknowledge Him, brings me comfort. God is not a character in a book waiting for me to use my imagination to bring Him to life. God is not some motion sensor light that only comes on when I move near Him. All the action starts with God, not with me. God is pro-active!
“We love God because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19)
