Love Awakens

People have been spiritually awakened by different things; Like meditation, near death experiences, mid life or quarter life crisis, divorce , illnesses etc

I never realized what awakening meant till mine which wasn’t caused by the obvious factors but by Love.

Although It wasn’t automatic, it was an encounter I had at the confessional years ago which set me on the awakening journey: Find link to that story here ;

https://ucokonmah.medium.com/my-encounter-at-the-confessional-9697682e461d

However, I likened that stumble to a seed planted in the soil of my soul, waiting to be watered by a gardener and God to make grow.

Therein the confessional; I felt a glimpse of the reckless love of God. The Priest with a smile would call me “daughter” and welcomed me every time I walked in, never minding I had frequented the sacrament more times than normal in 3 days; that experience was the trigger.

Alas! It didn’t end there , it only began the journey. Same priest later in the day, delivered a life changing sermon on Love. I was implicated.

Many years after , I joined a discussion group of a young minister who unbeknownst to me became the proverbial “gardener” who watered the seed the gentle priest had sown years ago; From her I understood Our heavenly Father as a LOVER.

1 Cor 3 :6

_I sowed the seed, Apollo’s watered the plant, but it was God who made the plant grow_ . GNB

Love is attributed to Him. He does not love ; HE is Love! Little wonder the priest radiated this Love, he had this revelation; The church also does especially in the greeting of the priest at the beginning of Mass; “May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, The LOVE of God and the sweet fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all”.

God is Love. He has a weakness and that is Loving too much, HE Loves so lavishly that when we have a revelation of this truth, we do exploits and tap so much on this love. In HIM is never a NO, His love for us is His very weakness .

When I came to this understanding (although not yet entirely ) I understood Jonah more when he got upset on why God had to obstruct his program to Spain, and get him in the belly of the fish lol, even when it was obvious He would still forgive the people of Nineveh when they cried out to Him.

Jonah 4:2

_So he prayed, “ Lord didn’t I say before I left home that this is just what you would do? That’s why I did my best to run away to Spain! I knew that you are a loving and merciful God, always patient, always kind and always ready to change your mind and not punish._ GNB

I also understood why David chose to suffer under the hand of God rather than fall into the hand of man.

2 Samuel 24:14

_And David said unto Gad, I am in great distress: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man._ NKJV

And above all, how He could send his only begotten son to come die for us (while we were still sinners and unrepentant) to set us all right with Him.

John 3 : 16

For God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not die but have eternal life. GNB

Growing up, I was my father’s favorite child and I was the least perfect of my siblings. I had the lowest grades compared to the others, I wasn’t as meticulous as the others, I was the “crazy” one. My father would make excuses for me and only wished people understood me and not judge me very harshly.

However my father was also this very strict disciplinarian: always ready to use the “cudgel” as he called it.

So growing up , I had looked on God in the image of my earthy father, as the white bearded old man ready to use the cudgel at every wimp; Which explains why I was a chronic visitor to the confessional. And why it had to be my place of encounter of His love as a Father: that experience set me on the love awakening journey before the young minister watered and God made it grow.

To reciprocate this Love, It’s only sensible that we present our bodies as a living sacrifice. That way it becomes our reasonable act of worship to a God who loved us so much to send His son to atone for our sins.

Romans 12: 1

So then my brothers, because of God’s great mercy to us, I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him. This is the true worship that you should offer. GNB

Prayer

God You are Love. Teach me the intricacies of Your love and teach me how to Love. Amen

(Copyright) Uc-Okonmah 2022