Whom does the Father draw?

[seeker_of_God]

In John 6:44 it says:

[bibledrb]John 6:44[/bibledrb]

So who are these that the Father draws? Or does He draw all?

 

[svid2]

Faith is not something we do on our own, it is always a grace from God. I believe everyone gets this grace, but many rject it.

 

[Jeanne_S]

Faith is not something we do on our own, it is always a grace from God. I believe everyone gets this grace, but many rject it.

Indeed,faith is a gift from God.However,something I have always wondered about,those who say they have tried with all their heart to believe ,yet somehow faith eludes them! There is an obvious desire on the part of such a person,why then do they struggle?

 

[MichaelHowling]

But faith is an act of the will. If they are sincere, they have found faith.

Now God reveals, and touches as He will when it’s the proper time. And God is “the perfect father”. Some people need to do some struggleing, some need to change things in their lives, some need to live in darkness and confusion for a while because that causes to grab close to God as we know Him. God knows what He’s doing.

 

[MichaelHowling]

We are soooo goal oriented and need feelings and sensations. But really, you don’t need them to know God is there or having a relationship with you. I know in my marriage… I don’t have those lovey feelings constantly…quite often, there is no talking when we sit next to eachother, we’re not constantly making out or having spectacular dates. REAL love has nothing to do with the senses…we experience a lot about it through the senses…but Love…is an act of the will.

In all seriousness…God is found in the silence! Look at mother teresa! Amazing saint…it has now come out that she didn’t “feel” God for over 20 years! Does that mean she did not have a relationship with God ?

Lastly, I heard a good story.

A seminarian went to his spiritual director and told him… " i don’t feel God anymore!" so now I don’t know if I love Him or if He loves me “…the priest told the seminarian " I want you to go talk to your guardian angel tonight and ask him 2 questions: 1 do you love God and 2 How does that feel”

The seminarian did as he was told and prayed to his angel that night and He actually heard the angels voice in his mind! He asked his first question: " do you love god ? " the angel said " ohh, of course! with all my strength and being1!! " wow the seminarian said! " How does that possibly feel?" …there was a dead silence…so the seminarian asked again …silence! …he gets frustrated and asked again " how does it feel to love God that much and to feel His great love ???" the angel said " feel… well, I don’t feel anything!"

The seminarian ran to his spiritual director and said " I GET IT!!!" … I love God with all my heart and God loves me…and I don’t need to feel a thing…because if that kind of love is sufficent for the angelic…it’s good enough for me.

 

[bzkoss236]

Indeed,faith is a gift from God.However,something I have always wondered about,those who say they have tried with all their heart to believe ,yet somehow faith eludes them! There is an obvious desire on the part of such a person,why then do they struggle?

For some, this is because they let their doubt cloud their minds and hearts. They let the devil attack them and win out. They may have tried, but they let their suffering detract them from God.

And for some (certainly not all), they didn’t really try, but instead are trying to convince to you that they “tried” to have faith, but couldn’t. As is said, faith is a gift. You can’t try to have something you haven’t accepted in the first place.

 

[seeker_of_God]

We are soooo goal oriented and need feelings and sensations. But really, you don’t need them to know God is there or having a relationship with you. I know in my marriage… I don’t have those lovey feelings constantly…quite often, there is no talking when we sit next to eachother, we’re not constantly making out or having spectacular dates. REAL love has nothing to do with the senses…we experience a lot about it through the senses…but Love…is an act of the will.

In all seriousness…God is found in the silence! Look at mother teresa! Amazing saint…it has now come out that she didn’t “feel” God for over 20 years! Does that mean she did not have a relationship with God ?

Lastly, I heard a good story.

A seminarian went to his spiritual director and told him… " i don’t feel God anymore!" so now I don’t know if I love Him or if He loves me “…the priest told the seminarian " I want you to go talk to your guardian angel tonight and ask him 2 questions: 1 do you love God and 2 How does that feel”

The seminarian did as he was told and prayed to his angel that night and He actually heard the angels voice in his mind! He asked his first question: " do you love god ? " the angel said " ohh, of course! with all my strength and being1!! " wow the seminarian said! " How does that possibly feel?" …there was a dead silence…so the seminarian asked again …silence! …he gets frustrated and asked again " how does it feel to love God that much and to feel His great love ???" the angel said " feel… well, I don’t feel anything!"

The seminarian ran to his spiritual director and said " I GET IT!!!" … I love God with all my heart and God loves me…and I don’t need to feel a thing…because if that kind of love is sufficent for the angelic…it’s good enough for me.

Oh, yes. This is a tough one for me, because I was in the New Age for years, and the New Age is very, well, feely; it’s very focused on feeling and subjective experience. And so sometimes, I become worried because I don’t “feel” God, whatever that means. Or I don’t “feel” the presence of the Eucharist. Every time I receive, I expect this big dramatic thing to happen, and of course it doesn’t. I have to recognize that it is by faith that we know these things, and feeling need not accompany that.

Love the story, BTW.

 

[mercytruth]

Those who turn from pride, and humble themselves I assume.

And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.