From contradictory convictions Thomas Merton now speaks of an opposite of coercive control, namely love. He says, “The beginning of love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves, the resolution not to twist them to fit our own image.”
Listen to this story in the words of a preacher. “My wife and I waited 15 years for a child that never came by the natural way. However we were approached one day with a lead of a newborn not yet born. I remember standing in front of the judge on our day of adoption. He pointed his finger and asked of me, "Is anyone coercing you to adopt this little boy?" After we had assured him that we were doing so out of love for our son, he made this statement. "From today on, he is your son. He may disappoint you, even grieve you but he is your son. Everything you own one day will be his and he will bear your name." Then he looked to the clerk and gave this command. "So order a change in this child's birth certificate and may it reflect that these are the parents of this child."
It was then that I realised that my Heavenly Father loved me so much that, without coercion, He loved me and gave His all to me. On that day, He changed my name and I gladly bear His name and His image.”
The hymn writer Albert Orsborn framed this truth in the verse.
Thy name is joined with mine
By every human tie,
And my new name is Thine;
A child of God am I,
And never more alone, since Thou
Art on the road beside me now.
May our prayer today be,
Beside Thee as I walk,
I will delight in Thee,
In sweet communion talk
Of all Thou art to me;
The beauty of Thy face behold
And know Thy mercies manifold.
Let nothing draw me back
Or turn my heart from Thee,
But by the Calvary track
Bring me at last to see
The courts of God, that city fair,
And find my name is written there. Amen
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