Taking the Initiative

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.

Luke 24: 30, NIV

Just reading this verse takes me to Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church, in which he wrote, “The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” (1 Cor 11:23-24, NIV) At the Last Supper, Jesus did four things: took the bread, gave thanks, broke it into pieces, and distributed it to His disciples.

Jesus took the bread. He didn’t wait for someone to give it to him. He took it. But he took it not selfishly; he took it to make sure the other two received a blessing.

Jesus took the bread to start the ball rolling. This wasn’t going to be an ordinary meal. This was going to be far more than that. This was going to be a life-changing moment for these two disciples. Jesus took the bread and took the initiative.

And we see many life-changing moments in the Bible; we see many times that God took the initiative. God takes the initiative throughout the entire Bible. Rather than waiting for men and women to seek Him, God constantly makes the first move to reach, save, and guide the people.

After Adam and Eve sinned and hid, God did not wait for them to apologise; He took the initiative to call out, “Where are you?“ (Gen 3:9, NIV). Even though they had sinned, God wanted Adam and Eve to confront their disobedience. When we sin, God wants to confront us with our sin as quickly as possible so that we can repent and get back on the narrow road that leads to life. He immediately gives us a guilty conscience so that we will stop what we are doing and reflect on our actions. He doesn’t want us to wallow in the gutter, but he wants us to be with Him so that we can have joy, peace and comfort.

God took the initiative and chose Abram to establish a special family line, long before Abram ever sought God. In theory, God could have chosen anyone, but God chose Abram. However, God wanted the Israelites to be His special people, not merely to ignore the rest of humanity, but to reveal His grace, mercy and glory to humanity. God chose Abram not because he was perfect, but to demonstrate His sovereign grace. According to the Bible, Abram came from a pagan, idol-worshipping background. God selected him to build a faithful nation, teach his descendants righteousness, and ultimately bring blessings to all the people of the earth.

Here are the reasons surrounding God’s choice of Abram:

God’s selection was an act of pure grace. When God told Abram to leave his homeland in Ur, Abram obeyed immediately. This radical willingness to step out in faith set him apart from everyone else.

According to Genesis 18:19, God chose Abram specifically because He knew Abram would lead his household to keep the “way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice.” God was seeking a capable father to build a multi-generational legacy.

Next, when Abram responded positively to God’s call, he also began rejecting the false gods that his father, Terah, and his family worshipped.

Lastly, the Bible tells us that Abram was chosen to be the ancestral root of the nation of Israel, a lineage that would ultimately lead to the coming of Jesus Christ.

And so while Abraham had flaws, such as lying out of fear or having an inconsistent track record of trust, God did not cancel the covenant he made with him. Instead, God used Abram as a foundational partner to fulfil His redemptive plan for humanity.

God took the initiative and sent Jesus Christ to die for everyone while they were still sinning against Him, showing His love to a fallen race. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:8, NIV) Not only that, God took the initiative so that we could be blameless in His sight. “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” (Eph 1:4, NIV)

The ascended Jesus took the initiative to stop Paul on the road to Damascus while Paul was actively fighting against the church. He used Paul’s passion for God to turn the young, timid church into a thriving, energetic church in the face of persecution from the Romans. “As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” (Acts 9:3 to 6, NIV)