The Catholic Church teaches, and I gratefully accept, that God has perfect foreknowledge. Simply put, God doesn’t have new ideas; and, that truth has enormous implications for each one of us. It means that, although we were conceived and later born on particular dates in history, we have always been in the mind, heart, and plan of God.
God has always known your name, your face, your strengths and weaknesses, your favorite color, your most cherished memories, the things that move your heart, and the things that make you cry. God sees your loneliness and insecurities. God hears your voice raised in prayer. God sees your fist raised in anger and frustration… and understands.
You have always been, and will always be, God’s beloved. You are never completely alone.
You are not an accident or a mistake! In fact, you are God’s good and eternal idea!
Musings Amid the Thorns 
Amen! As Lonergan said, “God has no second thoughts ” This has profound implications for biblical hermeneutics as well. The story of Noah’s Ark, for instance, begins with the character God expressing second thoughts. To fail to distinguish between the character God and God is to fail to read the Bible properly, and ends up distorting our image of God. And since “the symbol of God functions” (Elizabeth Johnson), a distorted image of God can and does do terrible damage to us, who then fail to see that we “have always been, and will always be, God’s beloved.” Your writing and teaching never fail to orient us properly, Steve, keeping the unchanging and unconditional love of God (Love that IS God) at the very center, or should I say, heart. Thank you for the witness of your faith!
Excellent point, Kevin! Thank you, my friend! Your comments are always so rich!
How wonderfully comforting, Steve. Thank you
Max, it’s also wonderfully comforting to hear from you. I hope you are well, my friend! Blessings, – Steve
Hi Steve: I think the most important word in the New Testament is “love” because God is love and he also lavishly gives us His love with no restrictions. Yes, He breathed life into us and He knows everything about us from the instant conception took place. So my comment to you is “love”; let us love one another as God has loved us. Amen. Love,Doris
You and Bill live the love commandment beautifully, Doris! You are a blessing! – Steve