Seized By a Great Affection

July 22, 2016

Seized By a Great Affection

“Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go?

You have the words that give eternal life.

We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”

John  6: 68-69

I was born into a family of the Old South. Segregation had always been a way of life for my parents, and their parents. Our heritage was one where children were to be seen and not heard. Children addressed adults with ‘yes sir’ and “yes ma’am.”  However, I only lived in the south for a few years during my childhood. The culture I was exposed to in the far west and northeast was much different than the one where my parents were raised. When I returned to Florida for college, I encountered segregation for the first time. I was confronted with challenges to what I had experienced as the normal way of life, and I had to make a decision about the values of my life.

The Israelites listening to Jesus were hearing a Gospel that confounded everything that had been the normal ebb and flow of their culture. For many, it was too much, and they turned away from Jesus.

Peter’s confession of faith in John 6:68-69, is one of the most compelling insights about Jesus. Jesus’ response to Peter emphasizes the work of the Spirit in bringing people to believe in Jesus, or as the writer of the letter of Hebrews put it, Jesus is the one who initiates and perfects our faith. (Hebrews 12:2)

The Christian writer C.S. Lewis was asked by a journalist when he decided to be a Christian. Lewis laughed and responded, “I didn’t decide. I was decided upon.” In his autobiography, Lewis referred to the work of God’s passion for saving His people as, God’s “compulsion is our liberation.” Brennan Manning writes that the Arcadian people who settled Louisiana referred to being ‘born again’ as being ‘seized by a Great Affection.” Both Lewis and Manning are pointing to what Jesus says: “Then he said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me” (John 6:65). We do not choose the time and place of our salvation. It is God who takes the initiative for our salvation. In Wesleyan theology, we call this prevenient grace: God first, last and always taking the first step.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.