Advent Devotional for Monday, November 28, 2011
Week 1: PREPARE
Invitation to the Thirsty
1 “Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
3 Give ear and come to me;
listen, that you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.
Isaiah 55:1-3
“Your money’s no good here” is, I think, what God is saying to us in this scripture passage. And when money or status have no value, our egos have no place. We’re not invited because of what we bring to the table, but because God loves us so, so dearly that he can’t help but to draw us towards him.
It may be too predictable or cliché to project my new experience as a mother onto this scripture passage, but it’s also inconceivable to me to not see almost everything through this new lens. And my relationship with my son has provided me with some firsthand knowledge of what it’s like to be in a relationship with another person where ego doesn’t get in the way. My relationship with my son is the only one I’ve ever had in which I don’t get anything tangible in return. I get heart melting smiles, hours of cuddle time and the feeling that my life has new purpose, but he doesn’t cook dinner, pay bills, or even give advice. So while I know I don’t have the capacity to love like God loves, this may be the closest I will come to it—and it’s wonderful. And knowing how much joy I get out of loving my son, and how desperately I want him to know how much we adore him AND that I can only love and provide for him a fraction of the amount that God loves and provides for me, makes me feel very taken care of.
It is simultaneously humbling and emboldening to know that we can’t earn God’s love. But because of our egos (or mine, at least) it is also difficult to accept something that we haven’t merited. And sometimes it feels good to spend our time celebrating the things we’ve earned as a result of how awesome we are. But that’s not what God’s love is about. He loves us just because he made us to be lovable.
Happy Advent!
Written by Devon Lynch-Huggins-Szep, Advancement Coordinator
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