One of the greatest things about God is his pursuant nature, the fact that he actually chases after us like a lover does. The more stories I hear, the more evident this becomes.

J. had joined the military to become a real man and was living the guy’s life, docking in Japan, trying to get a little foreign action, drinking with his buddies, and not giving two thoughts about God, other than some angry dude in the sky. But out of the blue, he heard a message from God that changed his life (I won’t reveal the actual message for privacy sake). No church, no witness, just a lonely street in Japan and a heart-to-heart talk with the God who couldn’t let go.

S. had sunk so deep into the rock star lifestyle that he couldn’t get back out. He came from a family of professing Christians, but had run away from home, drowned himself in alcohol, and sold drugs on the street. But there is no true peace in that life, and once drunken night, S. drove into the parking lot of a church, not really sure why. All he knew was that he was miserable. And much like J, he heard the voice of God. It simply said, “You’re done.” God could no longer allow his child to hurt himself this way and stepped in to relieve S. of his heartache.

B. was wandering in the dark one night wondering where her life had gone wrong, why everything was a mess. A drunken homeless man told her she needed to get to church and find Jesus. Ironic and a little funny, but God is a little both. She found her way to church and stayed close to God til the end of her life.

E. wanted nothing to do with God or Christianity. But in her dating years, God put men in her path who worshiped Him. As time wore on, she could no longer ignore that they had something she did not, and had to have it for herself. Though she had rejected God, he still kept after her until her caught her at last.

In Luke 15, Jesus said that God was like one who left 99 sheep to go find 1 that was lost. He next describes God like a woman who has lost a valuable coin, turning her house upside-down to find it. Finally, we have the Prodigal Son story, in which the son wastes his inheritance and returns home in shame, but the father not only welcomes him back, he actually hikes up his skirts and runs to greet him.

God is a chaser. Yeah, sometimes he waits for us to come to him, but even in those times, there is evidence that God is not only after us, but running after us, like a lover in the airport at the end of a Rom-Com. He can’t help himself; He loves us that much and doesn’t want to live without us anymore.

Do you have a story of pursuit? Do you know someone who does? Let’s share some stories!