Do we love the Lord because we are heard or are we heard
because we love the Lord? It sounds like the psalmist would opt for the former
but then there are plenty of passages that lean towards the latter. I’m going
to do the Lutheran two-step and say it is both. We love the Lord because the
cords of death that choked the life out of us have been loosened. But then we
wouldn’t have called on the name of the Lord in our anguish and distress if we
didn’t trust the Lord to hear. And trust is just a five letter word for love.
The Lutheran song is that the Lord loves us regardless of whether we love the
Lord or not (that grace thing) but maybe the Lord is equally adept at dancing
the both and. The Lord answers because we love the Lord and the Lord loves
because we call out. Grace certainly exists apart from the call and response
relationship of love but it is not nearly as noticeable as when faith two steps
with the Lord.
No comments:
Post a Comment