You didn’t choose me. I chose you. John 15:16 NLT
From the beginning of time, God has been pursuing us. But it’s not The Fugitive, The Tracker, or Reacher pursuit. He’s not on a quest for justice. He’s on a love search, a rescue mission. It began in the Garden, continued as He prepared the pagan and broken world for the Messiah, and reached its completion when Jesus came for us.
Jesus was not forced into His sacrificial role. He chose it. In His messages, stories, and life, He showed us over and over that He came on a search and rescue mission. He gives us a deep glimpse into His heart by comparing Himself with a shepherd who leaves 99 sheep to seek the one lost (Luke 15:4-7), with a woman combing through her entire house on the search for a lost coin (Luke 15:8-10), with a father who incessantly scans the horizon for the return of the prodigal son (Luke 15:20), and with a merchant seeking fine pearls (Matthew 13:45-46).
The most amazing part of this whole story is that He is the chooser, the initiator. We need to respond. He will not take us over without our willing participation and choice. The Bible records in several places that God is “jealous” for our love. You only feel jealousy over things and people that really matter to you. He loves us with indescribable love. Jesus’ coming was a sacrifice beyond description, made only because of the deepest love.
God’s pursuit of us means that He is actively reaching out for us, that He is pulling strings and setting up opportunities to win us over. He is doing things in and around us to get our attention and to help us decide to love Him. God doesn't just answer when we call. He is taking the initiative. He is not only seeking, hoping somehow to get us – He is relentlessly working for it.
Responding to God's pursuit of us by pursuing Him back is the purpose and secret of a fulfilling life. He created us for this. We exist because He wanted a relationship with us. Everything He permits to happen in life He uses with great intention that we would see Him and respond. Seeking God means letting my yearning heart meet His loving heart that yearns for a relationship with me. I don’t reach out to God, trying in some way to get His attention or win His love. When I truly look up to see Him, I meet His loving eyes. I don’t try to stir or move His heart. I realize He has chosen me, and in love I choose Him. Pursuing you isn’t something He does reluctantly or because He must. He WANTS you. He chooses you. You are not a pain or a disappointment to Him. He chooses you. He passionately loves you. Your growing love for Him is His great reward.
- God, I am breathless and undone as I begin to realize the depth of Your love for me. Help me learn to love You more and more. (Read Romans 8:31-39 in celebration of your love relationship.)