There is a wonderful section of Anne Lamott's book, Traveling Mercies, that describes her conversion experience. There was no altar call and no pleading - but there was persistence and the knocking that could not be denied.
"...everywhere I went, I had the feeling that a little
cat was following me, wanting me to reach down and pick it up, wanting me to
open the door and let it in. But I knew what would happen: you let a cat in one
time, give it a little milk, and then it stays forever. So I tried to keep one
step ahead of it, slamming my house door whenever I entered or left.
And one week later, when I went back to church, I was so
hungover that I couldn’t stand up for the songs, and this time I stayed for the
sermon, which I thought was so ridiculous, like someone trying to convince me
of the existence of extraterrestrials, but the last song was so deep and raw
and pure that I could not escape. It was as if the people were singing in
between the notes, weeping and joyful at the same time, and I felt like their
voices or something was rocking me in its bosom, holding me like a scared kid,
and I opened up to that feeling – and it washed over me.
I began to cry and left before the benediction, and I raced
home and felt the little cat running along me heels, and I walked down the dock
past dozens of potted flowers, under a sky as blue as one of God’s own dreams,
and I opened the door to my house, and I stood there a minute, and then I hung
my head and said, “[Okay,]. I quit.” I took a long deep breath and said out
loud, “All right. You can come in.” So this is my beautiful moment of
conversion. From Anne Lamott's -Traveling Mercies.
Then there is the text from Revelation 3: 19-20 that speaks
of the persistence of God to seek out the people that he so loves...
"19 I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be
earnest, therefore, and repent. 20 Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking;
if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you,
and you with me."
Jesus has a way - through the power of the Holy Spirit - of
entering our lives in ways and through people we least expect. I know it sounds
like a sweet platitude or words to fill the space of this post, but please hear
this... God loves you.
Stop. Really hear these words.
Let them sink into your mind, inhale them with every breath,
and let your heart be warmed that the God of the universe cares for you...
Jesus is knocking and waiting at the door.
You. Are. Loved.
 |
| Image of Holman Hunt's "Light of the world" found at Yorkview Heights |
Comments