Acts 2: 36 NKJV
There was a question brought up in our group this week. Do we pursue God or does He pursue us? With years of Christianity under my belt, I felt as if I had the answer. Indeed we, as Gods children, seem destined to pursue relationship with the Father...right? I've heard it too many times. Come before the Father. Kneel before the Father. Seek the Father. The list of how we pursue God goes on and on. Yet, we almost never consider things from Gods perspective. What is God doing while we are spending so much time seeking Him? I mean, can God really be that hard to find? I'll get into the question of why I believe we seek God in a bit, but I want to tackle this notion that many Christians have that we are the ones doing the active seeking while God sits and waits for us to come to Him. First off, if Gods desire was for me and me only to seek Him, why send His Son for me? I believe that God is more than interested in seeking out His children. So much so that He desires the truth of Jesus be told to all mankind {Mark 16:15}. See, God isn't looking to simply save those who follow Him. I believe that one of His desires from the start was that He have a relationship with us. We see this in one of the most iconic scriptures we will ever know, John 3: 16-17. Yes, most of us know and understand John 3:26 that God, out of His love for us, sent His Son to suffer in our place. The first part of this verse should be a clear indication of Gods desire to pursue us. If God didn't give two hoots about how we would turn out, He wouldn't have provided for our salvation. Now, the key to understanding John 3:16. Why did God send His Son? Read verse 17. "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him MIGHT BE SAVED." Indeed, it has been the Lords desire from the get go that He would have a vested interest in seeking and providing for His children. This, as we have come to understand in our own way of thinking, is the sign of a good father.
"And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son." But the father said to his servants, "Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.' 'And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found."
Luke 15: 20 - 24 NKJV
One of my favorite scriptures from the bible is that of the prodigal son. It is here where I believe that we see the compassion which God has for all of His children. Yes, the wandering son returns home to seek his father once again, but what is the fathers reaction? Far from wanting to teach his son a important lesson, the father rejoices that his lost son had once again returned to him. I believe that this is a wonderful description of God when we take it upon ourselves to seek Him. See, God is not waiting in heaven to punish those who have wandered. No, He is actively seeking His children while we are seeking the Father as well. So, why is it that we seek God? Well, everyone has their own reasons at the time right? I began actively seeking God more or less as a confirmation to myself. I knew that God was there, and I wanted to know Him. However, I was still in the institutional church mindset that I was the one who was looking for God. What I did not realize was that God, through those around me, was seeking me as well. As the father in the story of the prodigal son, Gods desire was for me to know Him. That is, to know Jesus, not just the church view of Him. We speak all too often of our "come to Jesus" moment. For me, it was at the end of a Easter Sunday service some years ago when I realized that there was more to Jesus than what I was being taught. God was knocking on my door. Thankfully, I answered and have come to know the truth of Jesus in me {Galatians 2:20}. We might not always know or understand the ways of the Father, but I believe that He has never abandoned His desire to pursue a life with His children as He shared with us in the garden.
~Scott~
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