Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new,
late have I loved you!
You were within me, but I was outside,
and it was there that I searched for you.
In my unloveliness
I plunged into the lovely things which you created.
You were with me, but I was not with you.
Created things kept me from you;
yet if they had not been in you they would have not been at all.
You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness.
You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness.
You breathed your fragrance on me;
I drew in breath and now I pant for you.
I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more.
You touched me, and I burned for your peace.
(A prayer of St. Augustine of Hippo, from his Confessions, and the inspiration for the Matt Maher song, Alive Again)
I first heard that quoted in a novel, and it hit home so deeply that I couldn't get it out of my head. How wonderful that the words that spoke of his faith can be relevant and true in my faith so many years later! Proof, to me, that God's love is very much a living thing. It was, and is, and will yet be coming for those not yet alive in Him. He is timeless and yet the author of time.
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