"Ya." His college aged girlfriend nods, smiling.
"Well, now is one of those times, but I'm not sure which one."
"Doesn't that suck for you?" She laughs.
Tonight, some friends and I were talking about how sometimes it feels like God just gives us the freedom to choose. We thought that this might be because God desperately desires relationship with us and will give us a choice instead of a directive so that we grow to know his character and and walk by faith.It reminded me of a chapter that I read last week about the ways his character is manifested in some typically feminine traits.
Women are teased for being "fickle" or for not knowing what they want but wanting someone else to know. Now, I think God always knows what his plans and purposes are, but I think sometimes God, like a woman, might want to be so known to the core that we don't have to have him tell us what he wants. Maybe he wants us so much that our choices match his desires because we want to please him.
But God, perhaps in the way that women sometimes want it all, also makes sure that he can never be understood completely. He is mysterious and draws us in.
God so wishes intimacy with his beloved ones that he will, in the words of Hosea 2, "slay" them if that is what will bring us back to him. But he will not leave us flattened. He will "speak tenderly" and call us back to himself with incredible gentleness.
And now we come to the part of the story where I fish for some connection with Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth is a woman who is willing to hold out for that deeper knowing. If it means risking everything, she'll wait until she knows she is known by a lover and a friend.
I think God is willing to hold out, too because "he delights in steadfast love," according to Micah 7:18
"I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord." Hosea 2:19-20
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