Pursue me!

For those of you who don’t know, my dog's name is George. I had to clarify this because once I met with a friend and she asked what I had been up to. I said several things, one of them being taking walks with George. She got this look of horror on her face and asked who George was. She thought I was talking walks with some guy. Mind you, she had actually been to our house several times recently and met George every time because he is impossible not to meet if you come to our house. So just remember, George is my dog, though I think it will be obvious.

George and I play this game. He comes up to me, his favorite blue ball in his mouth, and teases me. He comes close but when I try to get the ball, he runs away. I just want to sit on the couch and throw his ball so he does all the work. But he wants to be chased. After he gives me one of the most pitiful looks ever, I chase him around the house yelling “I’m gonna get you!” He runs, sometimes frantically, depending on how heavy I stomp my feet, and sometimes just trots ahead of me. The fun part is that every couple turns around the house, I hide in the bathroom or bedroom until he notices I am no longer chasing him and he comes to find me. Then I yell with delight “you found me!” and start chasing him again. Just writing that brings a smile to my face.

I almost never want to start this game but in the end, I am always smiling and laughing and feeling energized. I am not typically a playful person – I am usually much too serious – and playing with George brings out the playfulness in me. I hope that the same will be true with our kids some day; I want to play with them, pursue them, engage in their world. It doesn’t take much but it does take time, energy and the willingness to step out of my world. To simply play and not being so busy doing things and being productive.

I look at George’s delight in being pursued and it reminds me of my own delight in being pursued. I think we all love to be pursued in the right way. And it is amazing that God, the Creator of the universe, pursues His creation. It should be the other way around but that is what makes God so amazing. He doesn’t pursue us like the world does. He doesn’t pursue when we are famous or have accomplished something big. He pursues us when we are nobody and our name means nothing to the world. He doesn’t pursue us as the world does relationships. He doesn’t pursue us to make Him feel better. He doesn’t pursue us for all we have to offer Him. He pursues us in our weakness and in our sins and in our failures. He pursues us in our brokenness and grief and pain. And He isn’t surprised to find out we are not perfect. He pursues us, knowing us fully already. He pursues us not because He needs us but because He loves us.

What is also amazing to me is that God delights in being pursued. It’s not a one way street. He seeks me but sometimes He figuratively hides in the bathroom until I seek Him. Then maybe He yells to me "you found me!" I can delight the heart of God by pursuing Him. As I read over the blog again, I am struck by how many times “pursue” and “delight” are in it. We are a people who are meant to be about pursuing. Being pursued by God, and pursuing God. Being pursued by people, and pursuing people. Joy is found in both. Isolation is found when we go to either extreme of only pursuing or never pursuing.

But regardless of where we are at, God always pursues and He always invites us in. In to be with Him, not to get gifts or accomplish things, but to be with Him. That is amazing.