Radically Pursued!

The other morning, while the weather was cold with freezing rain and while it was still dark, I was leaning out the front door trying to catch my daughter's attention as she was preparing her car to leave for work. In the blink of an eye, Hunter, our great adventurer, took off through the door into the front yard. Not a good thing as all our cats are indoor pets since we live on a busy corner with lots of traffic.

 

I also took off through the door closing it just in time to keep the youngest cat, still basically a kitten, from joining him. Thank the Lord I had my shoes on and a shirt over my pjs. Hunter kept just in front of me traveling around outside the fence line until we almost reached the alley. Then, he must have decided that icy, snowy grass and freezing rain weren't for him. I scooped him up and headed back into the house where it was much, much warmer.

 

Our Hunter

 

The whole incident reminded me of the Lord's loving pursuit of us when we go off on our own adventures ignoring His voice.

 

Listen to what David wrote of God's pursuit of us, “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life.” (Psalms 23:6 NLT) Or, in the words of the Message, “Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life.” Psalm 23:6a

 

In the pages of the Scripture, we see God actively pursuing Adam and Eve, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Elijah, Jonah, Mary, the woman at the well, Paul and you and me.

 

Jesus said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost,” and “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." (Luke 19:10 ESV, John 3:16 HCSB)

 

John later echoed Jesus when he wrote that God first loved us. (1 John 4:19) And Paul agreed writing, "God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5:8 NLT) Still sinners not pursuing God—Him pursuing us! 

 

Jesus' birth, God coming to dwell in flesh among us, showed just how serious He is in His pursuit of us. And the cross revealed how far He would go—to death!

 

While the enemy pursues us to destroy us, as Moses wrote in Exodus 15:9, Mark Driscoll said, "God pursues us for the purpose of relationship." That's a radical pursuit!

 

Praying moms, you through your prayers come alongside God in His radical pursuit for your children.

 

Consider these words penned by Andrew Greeley, "Our God is not patiently standing by and waiting for us to offer love; He is actively and vigorously pursuing us...He is the father running down the trail to embrace the prodigal son even before the boy can speak his act of contrition. He is the mad farmer showering a full day's wage on men who hadn't even worked. He is Jesus forgiving the sinful woman even before she spoke her sorrow. He is the king lavishing a banquet on beggars. These are all symbols of a God whose love for us is so active, so strong, that by human standards He would be, at least, said to be mad."

 

Just like I was willing to be a "mad" woman out in the dark and freezing rain chasing a cat who really didn't want to be caught, so God pursues us in our rebellious nature to bring us out of the cold darkness to the warmth of His light.

Don't grow weary in prayer and lose heart. Continue joining the Lord in the pursuit of your children.