Monday 2 May 2011

Pursuit

This is something that I wrote last year while teaching ... just found it back and I still like what it makes me think about so I thought I'd share.

Pursue. The dictionary defines this as "follow in order to catch" and also as "engage in". The Bible shows us how God pursues us. We see this in the story of Israel throughout the Old Testament. We see this in the story of Jonah - how Jonah ran from God and God chased after him to catch him in such a dramatic way. We see it in the story of the Prodigal Son - how the Father actively searched for his son. And we see it in the story of the lost sheep - how the Shepherd leaves the 99 to search for the one that is lost. God pursues us with fury and passion. He will not let His children go - no matter how far we fall. Instead, as Psalm 40 says, "He lifts us out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he sets our feet on a rock and gives us a firm place to stand."


If we are created in God's image and are called to be imitators of Christ, how are we pursuing those around us - specifically  our students? Do we chase after them with passion? Sometimes this means times of hard discipline as in the story of the nation of Israel or the story of Jonah. Sometimes this means "leaving" our whole class just to reach that one lost student. We are not just working with our students' minds but with their souls. There is so much at stake! Are we pursuing them as God pursues us?


So, that's all I had written at the time but I could probably go on ... and this can also relate to how we pursue our children, our friends and family, our neighbours ... are we imitators of Christ? Are we pursuing people for him? :)