All throughout the Bible, we see the ongoing charge for us to pursue God and we see the story of Him pursuing us. In Jeremiah 29:13 God tells the Israelites, "You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart." From the time of creation, God has been pursuing relationship with humanity.
The purpose of our creation was for communion with God, and the story of the Bible is the story of God pursuing relationship with us. When Adam and Eve sinned, they hid from God among the trees in the garden of Eden. God is the one who pursued and came after them, "the LORD God called to the man" (Genesis 3:8–9). God has always had a desire to reconcile us to Himself; He sent His son Jesus "to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10). From creation to now, God has been pursuing connection with us because He loves us. Jesus came and lived and died for the sake of God pursuing us (John 3:16–18).
Before we ever seek and find God, He is the one who first draws us to Himself (John 6:44; see also Psalm 53:2). Jesus told the parable of the shepherd going after the lost sheep and the parable of the lost coin to show us how intently God will pursue one lost soul (Luke 15:3–10). Because God is our Creator, He knows us well and cares about us individually (Matthew 10:29–31; Psalm 139:13). He values us so much that He created us in His own image (Genesis 1:27). God pursues us so that we may know Him and true life in Him.
Those of us who have come to know God are privileged to be used by Him here on earth as witnesses for Him and of His goodness. In part, God pursues people by using other people to share His truth and tangibly express His love. Jesus charged the disciples to continue on with His work as witnesses of the reconciliation that He desires: "You will be my witnesses . . . to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Since then, believers in Jesus have been spreading the good news of the gospel: God is pursuing a relationship with each one of us, and Jesus made the way.
Once we are believers, God continues to pursue us through the Holy Spirit who indwells us. The Spirit leads us in the ways of the Lord and brings freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17), love (Romans 5:5), help (John 14:16–17), correction (2 Timothy 3:16), and the power we need to walk with God and in obedience to His Word (Philippians 2:12–13; Galatians 5:16–25). The Spirit is God pursuing us and enabling us to pursue Him back so that we may have a close relationship with Him and bear spiritual fruit (John 15:1–11). The Spirit is here to pray for us and help us in our weakness (Romans 8:26). He illuminates God's Word (the Bible) to us so that we can know God better. He unites us as believers with one another, equipping us to build one another up (1 Corinthians 12:4–7, 12–13; Ephesians 4:1–6). He guides us in life and reminds us that we have been adopted by God and can rest steadfastly in hope in Him, trusting that He will fulfill His promises (Ephesians 1:3–14).
God pursues us every day and in many different ways. We do not have to live this Christian life on our own—we live it in close fellowship with God because of the work of Jesus Christ and through the gift and power of the Holy Spirit. We have the benefit of God's Word, the privilege of coming to Him in prayer, and the blessing of fellow believers who walk alongside us and encourage us (Hebrews 10:24–25). We serve a God who pursues us and who loves us more than we can fully understand (Ephesians 3:14–19). What an amazing gift! What an amazing God!
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