God is Running After Us

Sun setting behind the clouds over Princess Point, reflecting orange light on the still water

Recently I was at a church service where one of the songs had a line in it about God running after us, and it made me think: why does God have to run after us? He’s our Heavenly Father, shouldn’t we be running to him?

Then I realized it.

It’s because he is our Heavenly Father that he is running after us. It’s like when a toddler tries to dash into a busy street, nothing is faster than a parent running to grab them out of the danger, and to explain why they shouldn’t do that; or when they try to run into the water when they can’t swim or if its a raging river. Or if they try to run and pet the pretty geese. (We have a lot of Canadian Geese here; they’re not really fans of people.)

We spend so much of our time running from God, running away from the blessings he’s given us, running away from the  guidance he’s provided us, because we’ve done such a good job at twisting his message. People take his love, his grace, his mercy, his goodness, and twist it into something they use to take power, privilege, money, and fame.

Not all people have done that, but too many have, and too many have shattered the lives of innocent people, making them fearful and angry at anything that has God’s message attached to it.

God’s running after us, because as humans, we keep messing up.

It’s okay, we’re not meant to be perfect, but we’re also not meant to be horrible people. We’re not meant to constantly argue with others. We’re not meant to think we’re better than others. We’re not meant to hurt, maim, and steal. We’re not meant to fight each other for profit or for gain. We’re not meant to make others less so that we can feel like more. Those are all earthly things, things that come from ancient places in our DNA where we fought like animals for survival.

We don’t need to live like that anymore.

There is plenty for everyone, if we choose to share and care about each other. No one has to have less so that someone else can have more.

Think about all the storage units that are going up all over the place. We are building more places to hold our stuff, because we can’t hold it all in our homes. Then in contrast there are more people living in tents in parks or at the side of the highway because they do not have a place to live.

We are creating places for our stuff to live, and leaving our fellow humans out in the cold.

God is running after us at such a pace, trying to get us to stop and listen, to receive his love and guidance, protection and provision. We cannot solve all of the world’s problems on our own, but what could we do if we came together?

What if we stopped running from God?

What if we received his love, his blessing, his provision?

What if people who needed help chose to believe they were worth receiving it, that they were indeed dearly loved children of God, and would accept the help they needed? What if we stopped blaming people? What if we stopped saying “Get a job!” What if everyone chose to be a little kinder, a little slower in their responses, and a little more peaceful?

God will always run after us to protect us. God will always be there for us if we let him, and if we stop running away from him.

Let’s slow down, let our Heavenly Father catch us up in his loving arms, and receive the love, grace, mercy, and peace that he has been trying to give us for so long.

Let us not be afraid of God’s love in our lives.

Let us receive it and share it with others.

Let us be blessed, receive peace, and share grace.

Amen!