Lost in Faith

“Let’s create creatures with the capacity to fully enjoy us. We’re absolutely happy with ourselves, of course, because who we are and how we relate is incomparably wonderful. But so far, we’ve created no one who can share deeply in the unique joys of an intimate relationship with us where we hold nothing back. Let’s create personal beings like us to whom we can reveal the very depths of our glorious nature.

“We must, of course, take into account what that will require. These new beings must be built with the freedom to love us and thereby experience the life of connection or to love themselves more and experience the misery of disconnection. They will, of course, make the wrong choice. We will design them to enjoy the depths of our grace. But that will make them vulnerable to the enemy’s temptation to want more than we can give them in their unfallen state, to long for grace that cannot yet be revealed. They will, therefore, believe the lie that we’re holding out something good that they could find through their own efforts. But we can work their faithless choice to our advantage. It will give us the opportunity to reveal what otherwise would remain hidden, that we are so good and our love is so profound that we will sacrifice the joy of our community in order to welcome them into community.

“Son, at just the right time I’ll send you to become one of them and to accept the guilt for their sin. Then (and here the Father’s voice broke) I’ll break our connection and let you experience the death of separation from me that all sin deserves. When they see the extremes to which we will go to bring them into our community, the yearning we’ll build into their hearts to be loved like that will draw them back to loving us fully and trusting us with their very souls.”

“Father, what you ask is painful beyond description to even contemplate. I cannot imagine what the actual experience will be like of not seeing your face. And yet I am delighted with your plan. It will give me the chance to let people see how wonderful you are. The joy of seeing you glorified makes it worth it all. There is no other way?”

“No.”

“Then I will go, gladly.”

“Spirit, you will come upon various people who will advance my purposes until my Son dies as a man and is resurrected. Then you will take up residence in every one you have drawn to me, and you will incline their hearts toward loving me so that obedience will become a joy and not mere duty.”

“It will be my incomparable thrill to advance your purposes and to create within all those who accept your gracious offer of forgiveness an appetite to know you. And I will nurture that appetite until it becomes stronger than all others. I will not rest until they live in my strength and overcome all desires to find life apart from you.”

“It’s time to get started. Let’s see what we can do with this bit of clay. I have a vision for what it could become.”

from Larry Crabb’s Connecting