Pursuit

Now that you're a Christian, you've found God. What do you do now? You've searched for something to fill the God-shaped void in your soul, and now you've found it.

.... What next?

Those who know the answer to this question are probably sitting there right now, thinking, "wow... she's really stupid." But I beg you to simply erase the knowledge that you, as a Christ follower, have engrained in your brain, just for a few moments. Escape from the religious connotations and look at it from a different perspective. Think about what someone, specifically a non-Christian or a non-Christ-follower, would think when you tell him or her that you found God. Imagine that person thinking, "Alright. They've done it. They found him." The end. Ask yourself this question: When you find something you've been looking for, what do you do with it? Do you put it on a shelf to pull it down sometimes and admire it? Do you lock it in a box so you won't lose it? Do you frame it and put it on a wall for others to admire. Maybe. Honestly, it depends on what the object is. Think about this: when you find God, do you do this to him? Do you stick him on a shelf to pull down and admire him when you feel like it? Do you lock him away where you won't have to worry about him? How about this doozy, do you frame him and put him on a wall. Do you adorn your relationship with him for other people to admire? Honestly, think about what you do with God.

Think about this illustration. We call ourselves God-followers. What does that mean? Well, I think of a child, following her mommy, trailing behind her at a steady pace in a grocery store. The mother is very aware of her child behind her, checking constantly to make sure she's ok and still following her. But the child is choosing to follow her mother. There is no leash, no string, nothing connecting the child to her mother. The only reason that she's following her is because, well, her mother the only person she trusts in the store. She's choosing to pursue her mother throughout the store. Did you catch that? She has her mother. She sees her mother, she knows who her mother is, we could even say she's "found" her mother in the sense she knows that she belongs with her mother, but she's PURSUING her mother. As in following intently. (Bear with me... I know all children aren't perfect angels who follow their mother without a bribe of some sort. But a scared child always runs back to someone they trust... therefore, a smart child stays close to them.) And as she grows up, she'll make greater efforts to pursue her mother at a deeper, emotional level. Now, take that and loosely apply it to us God-followers. We know who God is. We've "found" God. We see God and the effects of his work in our lives and those around us, but in order to keep him in our sights, we have to pursue him. Like a patient mother, God may figuratively stop and wait for us to catch up if our short, stubby legs fail us and we fall. But we have to make the effort to get back up and have the desire to actively follow him. Even after we've found him and filled that void, we must pursue him.

Now, you're probably saying, Duh. That's so obvious to me. But I think that sometimes, it's most helpful to go back to the beginning and review the basics. Ask yourself this: Are you pursuing God right now? Actively and intently? If you're not, then get back up off the ground and start pursuing your Creator. He's waiting for you.