Romans 8:20 Meditation
Text (Ro 8:20, NIV):
"For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope..."
Amplified Rendering:
As a consequence of humankind's fall, all creation succumbed to the impermanence and difficulties of life in a fallen world. While not chosen directly, it was the consequence of humankind's choice to turn away from the Author of Life to that which cannot sustain Life. Being trapped in the transient, sickened state of fallenness was the permitted will of the One who created all things. In willing it, the Almighty purposed to instill a longing in His lost children for that which had been lost: Divine union with Him.
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The will of the Almighty ordained this consequence so humankind, like the prodigal, might come to the end of its self-destructiveness and aimless wandering and return to the Source of surrendered, true-north living(1). While He knew it would take time, He knew many would return—some, sooner than later. That's why, even today, He waits expectantly on the veranda of Heaven, looking out toward the far-country, longing to see the silhouette of a returning soul as it breaks the plain of the horizon.
Consecrating Prayer:
Holy Father...
All creation suffers because of our love for the false over the Real. In Your wisdom and loving-kindness, You allow us to experience the consequences of our actions. You do this so we might come to the realization that experiencing the Real is the only thing that matters. Continue, O God, to awaken within us the desire for You (that which is Real [and the Source of all that's real] by definition); and, through that awakening, draw us back to Your loving embrace in the ways only You can.
In the Name of Jesus, I ask these things...
Amen.
Notes:
See Lk 5:11-32.
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