the process of pursuit

"search for the LORD and for his strength, and keep on searching."
– 1 chronicles 16:11

jesus loves the process of the pursuit. coming to a mature point in your relationship with the true redeemer does not and will not happen over night. it is a relationship that, like your grandparents who have been married for 50 years, will take time to develop, mature, and prosper.  i constantly find myself reevaluating my walk.  some days i sprint with the friend of sinners and other days i am reduce to a simple crawl; yet, when i read in the bible, i continue to find that it is not whether you are a 25-year-old-just born infant in your walk with jesus or a 86-year-old- avid christ follower in the final adult stages of your christ-paved path, but rather that you are constantly AND consistently pursuing the light of the world.  (let me remind you reader that physical age is irrelevant, coming to christ is the key point.  you could be an 86-year-old infant or a 25-year-old adult in christ).  it matters that you are developing an affectionate and intimate relationship and being fed–daily–by the bread of life.  it can be a process that evokes sundry sentiments: pain, liberation, comfort, healing, awakening.

reader, when you pursue (or pursued) a potential spouse, are/were these not the same emotions elicited? jesus is our ultimate lover, a lover that never stops holding us or seeing the potential bound in our hearts.  when you genuinely chase after the heavenly father, how much fulfillment will be granted.

"i'm not saying that i have this all together, that i have it made. but i am well on my way, reaching out for chrsit, who has so wondrously reached out for me.  friends, don't get me wrong: by no means do i count myself an expert in all of this, but i've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward–to jesus. i'm off and running, and i'm not turning back."
–philippians 3:12-14 (MSG)

do you pursue God like have you pursued:
• work • free time • money • perfect grades • exercise • time with your children • goals and ambitions • seeking attention • weight loss • your boyfriend or girlfriend • intimacy with your spouse • gossiping  • approval • vacations • music • physical beauty • shopping • waking up each morning!?

if not, why not?

jesus loves the process of your pursuit.  through the exsposure of your heart, jesus radically transforms it and molds it to his image. in your loneliness, pursue his friendship; in your brokenness, pursue his healing; in your bitterness, pursue his forgiveness; in your prayers, pursue his voice of reason; in your pain, pursue his comfort; in your life, pursue his death.

we are constantly growing when we are constantly seeking.  spiritual maturity is not something that can be automatically acquired or simply obtained.  it is a steadfast and earnest pursuit of the author and perfecter.  you wouldn't go a day without greeting your spouse, brushing your teeth, eating, doing your corporate job, using the restroom.  why do we treat jesus, the savior of our very being, as if he is something to be shelved and contemplated only when we "have time" or are "desparte" or "get sick" or "have heartbreak" or "when it's convenient?"  jesus is to be pursued first and foremost in our lives, above all else.

now, i am in no way claiming to be an expert nor am i stating that i have the process of pursuit down to a religious science, because i don't.  all i can and will attest to and advocate for is that i am diving into the bible daily and have found more relevance and application to my personal life while opening those thin pages than i have ever experienced on Jersey Shore, Oprah, or Desperate Housewives.  the process of pursuit has been painful, liberating, comforting, healing, and given me a sense of awakening to self.  i have found friendship. i have found freedom from the past. i have found consolation. i have found love. i have found a role model and parent. i have found aionios zoe (everlasting life).  

jesus loves the process of my pursuit and i have grown to cherish the process all the same.