"In Jesus Christ God not only speaks to man but also seeks him out. The Incarnation of the Son of God attests that God goes in search of man...It is a search which begins in the heart of God and culminates in the Incarnation of the Word" (Towards the Third Millennium, Pope John Paul II, 7). Christianity is the only religion in history which believes that God searches for us, allures us, and leads us into the desert to speak to our hearts (Hos 2:16). Even Judaism generally understands this Scriptural passage from Hosea to be poetic, not concrete. However, we Christians believe that God has loved us first (1 Jn 4:19), unconditionally, and eternally. We believe that He has chosen us, not that we have chosen Him (Jn 15:16). He has taken the initiative to save us. "I repeat, it is owing to His grace that salvation is yours through faith. This is not your own doing, it is God's gift; neither is it a reward for anything you have accomplished" (Eph 2:8-9, our transl).

Thus, our lives are simply a response to God's grace (see Hos 2:17). Life is to accept God's love which He has always had for us and will always have for us. We never need to gain God's love. We only need to live in it and in Him (see Jn 15:9-10). Don't run away from His love.

Nihil Obstat:  Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, December 4, 2001

Imprimatur:  †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, December 10, 2001