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Hosea 2:14
Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her.
My wife and I met at Taylor University in Indiana when I was a graduate student and she an undergrad at Taylor. In the early days of our courtship I was definitely the pursuer and she was the pursuee! In fact, I would say that I pursued her well before she actually knew she was being pursued.
As my interest and feelings grew I had a problem. While I wanted to get to know her better and therefore to be around her as much as I could, I sensed that her level of interest did not exactly match mine – which on a scale of 1 – 10 was about a 35.
So how could I pursue this possible relationship without coming on too strong, or seeming desperate – which I most definitely was! I needed something a little more subtle, I needed a plan.
So I gathered enough “intelligence” to figure out her daily schedule and I planned my days around that schedule so I could “accidentally” bump into her several times each day. I think this is now called “stalking.” If it was time for chapel, I would sprint across campus just so I could manage to walk up the stairs at the same time she did. If it was lunch time, I would hustle to get in line first so I could offer her and her friends a spot in front of me. It never occurred to me that she might wonder why I kept turning up – or why I was always out of breath!
I pursued her because I was convinced that if I could just spend enough time with her I could win her heart. And I did!
Do you see what’s going on here?
This is not just Hosea going after his wayward and unfaithful wife Gomer to win her back. This is a striking, almost embarrassing picture! This is God himself, his heart breaking with unrequited love, pursuing the object of his passion – his people – wanting desperately to woo them back to himself. This is the God who pursues us; who wants to allure us, romance us; to win our hearts and draw us back to himself!
Throughout scripture we see that God is always the pursuer and we are always the pursuee. In the book of Genesis, following their sin we see Adam and Eve hiding from God in the garden for they are ashamed. But God went looking for them, “Where are you?” he said. In the story of Jonah, which we will look at in a few weeks, God pursues his runaway prophet through a storm and by having him swallowed up by a great fish. In the New Testament, Saul of Tarsus is on his way to persecute followers of Jesus when that same Jesus confronts him in a blinding light and says, “Why are you persecuting me?”
And God pursues us; you and me. He pursues because he loves. He pursues because he wants to draw us to himself’ he wants to win us back from all the “lesser gods” who would capture our hearts and lives.
How is God pursuing you today? Is he speaking to you tenderly of his love? Is he using events in your life to turn your eyes toward him? Is his Holy Spirit convicting you to make changes in some area of your life?
Thank him for his relentless and pursing love – and ask him to help you be more and more aware of his presence in your life.
Pastor Brian Coffey
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