The God Who Pursues預覽

Who Found Who?

“I was at a certain stage in my life...just lost...but then I found God.”

“He was such a hurtful person, going down a wrong path, but then It seems like he just found God and turned his life around.”

I know what they mean, and maybe I’m playing semantics but, can we really FIND God? I mean, seriously, if God wanted to play hide and seek, would we FIND Him? We’re here on this tiny planet, and He’s God of the universe. Could He not hide just out of sight beyond the Milky Way?

Why am I even bothering to address this simple use of language? Perception. Quite often, even with our language, we view God as a passive God...one who sits and waits, or hides, until things get so bad that we blindly bump into Him and find Him.

To address this, let’s go back to the beginning of sin. Adam and Eve do the ONE THING God commands them NOT to do. He had given them a list of YOU CANs.

You can do this, you can do this, and you can do that, and oh, have fun doing this as well. 

Then he gives them one thing NOT to do. And of course, that’s what they do.

When they sin, their first response after recognizing their nakedness is to hide. They sew fig leaves together to hide the areas of their body that were different from each other (that’s a sermon for another time), and then they hide behind some trees when they hear God walking in the garden. 

Here’s the good part. God didn’t just sit on His favorite bench in the garden. He didn’t just say, “Oh, they know we have our regular walk time at 4 pm, so I’ll just wait here until they FIND me.”

Instead, He calls out, “Adam, where are you?” and proceeds toward Adam when he answers.

After God discusses their sin and the consequences of this sin, He makes clothes out of animal skins for Adam and his wife.

God cares for us. He wants to be in relationship with us. And even when we sin, He still calls for us. When we answer, he lovingly corrects us and provides for us.

God isn’t running away from us or waiting for us to FIND Him. He’s calling! Answer His call and let Him catch you when you fall.