What you pursue might change over the years. As an elementary student, I pursued insects. Yes, you might consider me a bit weird, but I loved to learn about the insect world, and four of my main interests were butterflies, moths, ants, and bees. I had quite an exhibit of butterflies and moths, but in my teenage years, I pursued learning about bumblebees and then honeybees, of which I had several hives. At that time, I could tell you almost everything you could ask about honeybees.

As a young adult, I loved farming, and over the years became quite good at planting, tending the crop, and harvesting, plus maintaining the equipment and managing the farm. Of course, over and above my career choice of farming, I pursued family life, which to me was of most importance. So, what about you? Hopefully, as you've read this, you're remembering things you've pursued over the years.

If you’re a Christian, you might say that one of your pursuits is the pursuit of God. That’s quite a noble statement, but how many of us can realistically say we are pursuing God or Jesus? Why don't you and I both pause and ask ourselves if the evidence backs that up? If a detective followed you (and me) around for a month and observed everything we did, 24 hours a day, would your lifestyle/daily activities reveal you are pursuing God? Or would it possibly reveal God is of neglectable value?  

I do "not" intend to tear you down and make you feel small about a lackadaisical pursuit of God. I struggle the same as everyone else because even a pastor has trouble staying on a laser-focused pursuit of God. Life consists of many pieces that fit together like a puzzle, so everyone’s puzzle will look different, and there are many distractions in those pieces of the puzzle. But ask yourself how much of your puzzle contains God. I don't think God wants us to spend all day reading our Bibles, but He does want us to have Him on our minds all the time and live like Jesus. Sadly, all of us fail at that.  

God created humanity perfectly, but Adam and Eve messed up everything with their sin. Therefore, everyone who is fully human since Adam and Eve has sinned. But God pursued us. For centuries, he prepared a family line from Abraham and Sarah into a nation, and then God brought His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world. Jesus, who was fully God and fully human, left His home in heaven and came to live among us, perfectly sinless, only to go to the cross and die for our sins. Jesus paid the penalty for you and me so that we do not have to spend all of eternity separated from God.  

Now, consider God’s pursuit for us. God pursued you and me with everything He had. He gave His only Son to be beaten, bleed, suffer, get nailed to a cross, willingly stay there, and die for us. Jesus gave of Himself to be beaten, bleed, suffer, get nailed to a cross, willingly stay there and die for you and me. So, do you think I should give more of myself to pursue the One who gave everything He had to save me from eternity in hell? Go ahead and judge me. Feel free to tell me how I've failed to pursue God the way I should, but now, judge yourself. Do you think you should do more to pursue the One who gave everything He had to save you from eternity in hell? We have all failed in the respect of pursuing God.

¹ As the deer pants for streams of water,

    so my soul pants for you, my God.

  Psalms 42:1 (NIV)

Do you pant for God as deer pants for water in a dry desert?

Oh my, how I’ve failed so often.

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²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?

    And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

  -Psalms 73:25 (NIV)

How much do we struggle because we desire earthly things above our desire for God?

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⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

  -Matthew 5:6 (NIV)

What do you hunger and thirst for? Are you feeling a little empty because you do not pursue God as we could or should?

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One more

⁷ But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ

  - Philippians 3:7–8

Do we pursue God so much that we consider everything earthly as garbage in comparison to pursuing Christ? 

As we remember and celebrate Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection from the grave, let's not forget that God and Jesus gave everything they had in pursuit of you and me. And when you consider Jesus' sacrifice for us, do you think we might do a better job of pursuing Him? Can we pursue living more as He lived? Can we pursue loving as He loved us?

Love you!!!

Kenny