Several months ago in worship, preparing to take Holy
Communion, I was painfully aware of a recent sin. I
didn’t feel ready to give that sin up, and I knew it. So I
prayed, “O God, I don’t feel worthy to take Communion this
morning. . . . ” Quick as a flash I heard God say in my heart,
“Oh? And all the other times you have been?” I was startled.
Are we worthy? Never. Are we welcome? Always. That is
the nature of God’s dealing with us.
In Wesleyan terms, we call God’s ready welcome prevenient
grace. This grace bears us toward God even before we
decide to begin the journey. It is God wooing us, beckoning
to us, searching for us.
God does not usually come into our lives like a demolition
expert, razing old structures with one spectacular explosion.
That might actually be easier—to walk away from one
way of life with its problems and spoiled relationships and
to start over fresh. But more often, God changes us the way
opening windows changes stale air inside a house—little by
little, displacing the old with something fresher, healthier,
more appealing.
And God persists. Like a shepherd with willful and
stupid animals, God follows us into our ravines, saving
us so that eventually we may cooperate in the process of
our being saved. We may pat ourselves on the back for our
resolve to be better, but there is a prior question: What (or
Who) made us dissatisfied with where we were? God, our
faithful lover. And when we turn from self-destructive ways
and choose something healthier, who is our happiest cheerleader?
Again, God.
By Mary Lou Redding from The Upper Room: 60 Days of Prayer for General Conference 2016