Don't Give Up

Do you have a teenager? Have you ever been subjected to the "Bargainer?" The "Bargainer" is the child who asks to/for something, and then, in response to "no" from the parent, begins to argue, to discuss, to wrestle and to bargain with the parent. Come to think of it, it is not just my teenager that does this; my 10 year old does it, too. Bargainers, both of them.

Take a look at two of the lectionary readings for this week:

• Genesis 18:20-32 -- This is the passage where Abraham bargains with God concerning the destruction of Sodom. I've always really liked this passage because it shows a relationship between God and Abraham. Abraham, even though he knows he is speaking with God, feels brave enough with God to try to change His mind about the destruction of the city.
• Luke 11:1-13 -- In this passage, Jesus teaches the disciples about prayer. He reminds them to be persistent in prayer. He tells them to seek, to ask, to knock, and that God will provide the answers.

I was thinking about these two passage together this evening, and about what a comparison between the two might tell us. I was reminded of Yancey's Prayer book. He reminded us that "Abraham quit asking before God quit granting." Have you ever thought of that?

God, for some reason that we do not always understand, wants us to struggle with him. He wants us to not give up; he desires our persistence.

Perhaps it is because, as we westle with God, as Abraham does, that even though we do it with our own goal in mind, God has a different goal. We cannot walk away from true relationship with God without being changed. We come to God, asking him to make changes in the world around us, and we often walk away with God having made changes in the world within us. Perhaps he struggles with us because transformation isn't easy, but he knows that if he allows us to constantly bump against him, we will be reshaped.

From Yancey's book:

We are all children of Israel, implied Paul, all of us God-wrestles who cling to God in the dark, who chase God from room to room, who declare, "I will not let you go."

Images: Pine needles up close and daisy up close at the VA today.