Going deeper into the beginning
I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks,
And I bent down to them and fed them. Hosea 11:4
Read 1 John 2:24—29
My life experience may have been a little different from those this letter was first written to. I mean that my earliest exposure to Christian teaching may not have been as good as theirs. It may not have taught me to abide in the Son. It may not have promised me that the Son would bring me to the Father. It may instead have been some exhortation to self-help. Or some demand for moral improvement that led me to self-righteousness. Or one of the many forms that lead to graceless self-effort. I know one thing I have in common with the first Christians, though: we are both well warned not to be deceived. There are any number of takes on the Good News that rob it of its sheer gift. But somewhere in my experience there should be a beginning to return to and to go deeper into. That is the point at which I learned something about abiding in Jesus. The point was to abide in the fact that he gave his life for mine. At that point I find all things freely given, unearned, by the Father.
Prayer
Dear Father, I thank you this night that I have been reminded of something crucial to my life. I have been reminded to go more deeply, with greater trust and gratitude into that wonderful self-giving of God which was my true beginning. Thank you for the day I learned of you truly. Thank you that you have more and more to give me in relationship, more of what I first discovered when I found the Son bringing me into the very presence of God. I do thank you, and I do treasure my first real awareness of your grace. It is a liberating touch which never goes stale.