Humbly Pursuing
Humbly Pursuing
Adam and Eve did exactly what God told them not to do. The consequences were devastating. In Genesis 3:8,9 we read how God came to the garden and when Adam and Eve did not come forward he called out to them. “Where are you?” he asked. God knew where they were and why they were there. Their sin had forever altered their relationship with God. It would take the blood of Jesus to restore what they broke that day. Adam and Eve hid and God pursued.
Being Adam and Eve’s children, we are born as enemies of God. We are full of sin and are separated from our Creator. Yet, God in his great love and mercy, pursues us and gives us the faith that restores our relationship to him. Romans reminds us that we would never seek God if it was left to us. The natural man, the sinful man, does not understand spiritual things. It is God who pursues us and seeks after us. He pursues the relationship.
In a perfect world, relationships would be two people who desire to walk together and thus pursue one another. On Monday, Todd calls Larry. A few days later, Larry reaches out to Todd. Both parties making sure that the stuff of life does not keep them from their friend. But we do not live in a perfect world. The stuff of life, distance, weariness, hurt feelings, and egos often create barriers to relationships. Slowly those relationships break down. Relationships with good friends, brother and sisters in Christ, and even family members are allowed to wither and die. We begin to justify our unwillingness to reach out. I called the last two times. They seemed to ignore me at church and so why should I put myself out there? They did not reach out to me when I missed the last two get togethers. It is humbling to be the pursuer. It is also a chance to be like our Heavenly Father who pursued us.
Sometimes people come into our lives for a period of time and then God moves them on. It is impossible to keep up with every person who impacts our lives. But, we know, that each of us has a few people in our lives, that God has designed for us to have a relationship with, that we are allowing barriers to keep us from pursuing them. Brothers and sisters that are permanent fixtures in our lives, whom we miss, but we still refuse to humbly pursue. Relationships where we have allowed small slights or misread motives to hurt our feelings to the point where we are waiting for them to reach out. The reality is probably more that our friend is just preoccupied and being neglectful. They would enjoy hearing from you, and you would love speaking with them, but you are allowing your pride to get in the way. Pick up the phone. Write an email. Send a card. Humbly pursue and learn a little bit more about the heart of your God while you reconnect with someone you love.
Adam and Eve did exactly what God told them not to do. The consequences were devastating. In Genesis 3:8,9 we read how God came to the garden and when Adam and Eve did not come forward he called out to them. “Where are you?” he asked. God knew where they were and why they were there. Their sin had forever altered their relationship with God. It would take the blood of Jesus to restore what they broke that day. Adam and Eve hid and God pursued.
Being Adam and Eve’s children, we are born as enemies of God. We are full of sin and are separated from our Creator. Yet, God in his great love and mercy, pursues us and gives us the faith that restores our relationship to him. Romans reminds us that we would never seek God if it was left to us. The natural man, the sinful man, does not understand spiritual things. It is God who pursues us and seeks after us. He pursues the relationship.
In a perfect world, relationships would be two people who desire to walk together and thus pursue one another. On Monday, Todd calls Larry. A few days later, Larry reaches out to Todd. Both parties making sure that the stuff of life does not keep them from their friend. But we do not live in a perfect world. The stuff of life, distance, weariness, hurt feelings, and egos often create barriers to relationships. Slowly those relationships break down. Relationships with good friends, brother and sisters in Christ, and even family members are allowed to wither and die. We begin to justify our unwillingness to reach out. I called the last two times. They seemed to ignore me at church and so why should I put myself out there? They did not reach out to me when I missed the last two get togethers. It is humbling to be the pursuer. It is also a chance to be like our Heavenly Father who pursued us.
Sometimes people come into our lives for a period of time and then God moves them on. It is impossible to keep up with every person who impacts our lives. But, we know, that each of us has a few people in our lives, that God has designed for us to have a relationship with, that we are allowing barriers to keep us from pursuing them. Brothers and sisters that are permanent fixtures in our lives, whom we miss, but we still refuse to humbly pursue. Relationships where we have allowed small slights or misread motives to hurt our feelings to the point where we are waiting for them to reach out. The reality is probably more that our friend is just preoccupied and being neglectful. They would enjoy hearing from you, and you would love speaking with them, but you are allowing your pride to get in the way. Pick up the phone. Write an email. Send a card. Humbly pursue and learn a little bit more about the heart of your God while you reconnect with someone you love.
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