Pursuing Him...

Are you pursuing God, or is He pursuing you?

This tug and pull that we are in with God, is very much like a relationship we enter in with the opposite sex, or the person we are inclined to date romantically.   It’s very familiar to the chase of dating.

I personally have never been good at dating, the chase or the “game” of it.

In Mark 1:36 we see one sentence in this verse, that once again, struck a chord with me.  It made me think this is what we are to be doing.

Mark 1:36 And Simon (Peter) and those who were with him followed Him (pursuing Him eagerly and hunting Him out).

Again, this resonates with me, because this is what I am supposed to be doing with God.  This is what we all are supposed to be doing with God.  We are to be pursuing HIM!!!  We are to be eagerly hunting Him out, and finding Him!

Wow.  Just Wow.

How could I have missed this?  How could I have not known, seen, recognized or paid attention to the fact that just as much as God is seeking me, I am to be seeking Him.

I know in the Bible we often see the phrasing that we are to “seek” God.  We are to Seek first the kingdom of God and all His righteousness, and then these things will be added unto me. 

But how foolishly of me to think this but I didn’t realize I was to pursue Him.  I didn’t realize they weren’t the same thing, until tonight, when I am reading Mark, and I see verse 36 and it’s like the light bulb went off and I thought, this is what I am doing wrong, I am not pursuing God.

I guess I shouldn’t really be surprised I am not pursuing God, I’ve never pursued a man before, but I guess that is going to change.

Could you imagine if this is what is stopping you, or me from entering into His calling for us?  That this is the one thing, one phrase, and one concept that satan was hiding from me that is keeping me distant from God.

I would hear almost every day, over and over in my head Seek Me, and I thought that I was and didn’t understand why I kept hearing it.  Now, I will say, in my defense the Seek Me did go away, when I began to diligently Seek Him.  If I go to long without having my time with God, I will once again start hearing Seek Me, and I know that God is calling me, and it’s been to long between our times together.

I am going to pursue Jesus.  I am going to eagerly pursue Jesus.  I am going to eagerly learn about Jesus, and who He is, and understand Him on a deeper level, and I am going to do it with a willing heart and mind. 

I know that I can get caught up in my own life, and the activities of the day, and before I know it, I am tired and ready for bed, and I don’t give God the time He deserves.   I think this is connected to the pursue Me idea. 

I know that in an intimate relationship, I want to be pursued.  I want to be chased, so to speak.  I want to have someone put in the extra effort it takes to get to know me, to get past the surface information, and really get to know me, and what is important and vital in my life.

I want to be pursued. 

I want to be the person’s best friend, champion, first thought and last thought.  I want to be the thing that makes him smile, and the thing that brings him joy.  I want to be pursued not only mentally, but emotionally and spiritually. 

I believe this is what Jesus is asking us to do.  Jesus is asking us to put Him first.  To be the person who occupies our mind, our time, our thoughts and our hearts.  I believe that Jesus wants to be the one thing that we can count on and we can run too whenever we need, and the only way to do those things, to come to that place, is to pursue Him.

I am sure that I am writing this more for myself than for anyone else, but to me understanding, or beginning to understand that Jesus wants me to pursue Him, is eye opening and possibly life changing for me.

I’ve often wondered how the disciples had such intimate relationships with Jesus, and as we see some of them had deeper relationships than others did, and I am willing to bet the ones that had a deeper relationship with Jesus, are the ones who pursued Him.

I know that Jesus has been pursing me for over thirty years, and the diligence He has put into knowing me, and showing me who He is, it’s time for me to start giving Him what He has already given me. 

We are told to pursue peace, to pursue happiness, pursue truth, well if we would just pursue Jesus, we would be pursing all of those things, because that is His character.  Those things we are to pursue are all found in the one thing that should be at the top of our list to pursue, and that is Jesus Christ!

Mark 1:36 reads And Simon (Peter) and those who were with him followed Him (pursuing Him eagerly and hunting Him out).

I am taking a page from Simon Peter, and I am going to start pursuing Him, eagerly!!