Reading: Genesis 24: 58-67
Verse 58: “So they called Rebekah and asked her, ‘Will you go with this man'”?
In the last section of our passage from Genesis 24 we see a model of God’s love. In the culture of the day the father had the authority to choose who and when a daughter would marry. Arranged marriages were simply the norm. Yet Abraham allows for another option. The chief servant asks the family for a decision and they, in turn, ask Rebekah, “Will you go with this man”? In a radical move, Rebekah is given the power to decide her own fate.
An invitation is given and Rebekah is free to make her choice. This is the model of God’s love too. We are invited into a relationship with God. God’s prevenient grace – the grace that goes before – woos us and draws us towards God. But, like Rebekah we have a choice. We are not forced or coerced. We do not have to love God. If we were forced or had no other choice, then it would not be love. In his ministry, Jesus also modeled this love. With the Pharisees, with the rich young man, with the people of Gerasenes, with Nicodemus… Jesus offered himself and God’s love, but he did not force anyone to accept it or him. On several occasions he was saddened by the rejection, but the choice is always ours to make.
When love and relationship are freely offered, we can accept or reject them. As God in Jesus Christ seeks to share his love with and through you today, what will your response be?
Prayer: God of love, I am aware of your love for me and for all of creation in so many ways. The care you took to create the world and to form each of us – it is so beautiful. Thank you, God. May I respond by being love and by sharing love in the world today. Amen.