Chosen

I have been working through the study Experiencing God my church is doing. I liked the lesson of yesterday, a message that I have been reflecting on for a bit:

The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.
Jeremiah 31:3 (NASB)

I led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love, And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws; And I bent down and fed them.
Hosea 11:4 (NASB)

There is incredible comfort knowing we are drawn to God, by the Father, that are relationship with Jesus Christ is a result of a nurturing Father bringing sinners to His loving Son. It took me until my late 40's to come to faith in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, and I am so thankful that the Father drew me in over the years, bending down to feed his child, hungry after years in the spiritual desert of unbelief. Drawing, ever drawing, He drew me in. Wow. I have been chosen, and that is good, for I could never choose for myself, nor earn what was given freely.

And as I thought about this, some lyrics from a song from a ways ago came to mind:

...Sometimes the light's all shinin' on me;
Other times I can barely see.
Lately it occurs to me What a long, strange trip it's been...
From Truckin' by The Grateful Dead

Not entirely true for me. There is the joy of knowing that His lights shines, and will always shine,
on me. And it blinds me, unless I am looking directly at the core of that light, seeking His face,
seeking it continually. What a wonderful trip it will be, for the strangeness is over and will in
time be forgotten as He wipes away every tear in His time.