Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws
them”(John 6:44 NIV).
Friend to Friend
The entire Bible from Genesis 3 to Revelation 22:21 is a record of God’s
passionate pursuit of the human heart. Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph,
Moses, Joshua, Samuel, a string of kings, both good and bad, intermingled with
prophets wooing and warning God’s people. We end the last chapter of the Old
Testament with silence. And then 400 years later, God breaks the holy hush with
the cry of a babe in a manger as the story picks back up in Bethlehem.
From God’s first question, “Where are you?” until Jesus’ final words, “It is
finished,” we see God drawing mankind with cords of kindness that
sometimes appear anything but kind—drawing people back to Himself with ties
of love (Hosea 11:4). We’ve wiggled and wrangled trying to break free of
those cords, but He continues to lasso us with love and draw us in again.
Passionate pursuit. He’s pulled out all the stops. Moved heaven and
earth—literally—to win us back, to reestablish the glory that was lost in the
Garden. As Tozer said, “The whole work of God in redemption is to undo the
tragic effects of that foul revolt, and to bring us back again into right and
eternal relationship with Himself.”
Most of us feel that we have to pursue God continually, as if He is hard to
find. And as long as we believe that, our faith journey will be difficult. It will be
arduous.
But didn’t Jesus say, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I
will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am
gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For
my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30)? And yet,
easy and light are not words that come quickly to mind when
women explain their faith journey to me.
Make no mistake about it. God always makes the first move. Where do you think
this glory ache comes from? God put it there! He is wooing you, stirring you,
awakening a longing for Him in your soul.
Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them,
(John 6:44). He tunes the violin and pulls the bow across the strings of your
heart and waits for you to recognize the melody wooing you into relationship
with Him.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in our
troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble
with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-5
NIV).
A storeowner was tacking a sign in his store window, which read PUPPIES FOR
SALE, when a little boy appeared.
“How much are you selling the puppies for?” he asked.
The man told the lad he didn’t expect to let any of them go for less than
$50.
The boy reached in his pocket, pulled out some change, looked up at the
storeowner and said, “I have two dollars and thirty-seven cents. Can I look at
them?”
The storeowner smiled and whistled. From the kennel, a dog named Lady came
running down the aisle, followed by five tiny balls of fur. One puppy lagged
behind. Immediately, the little boy asked about the limping puppy.
“What’s wrong with that doggie?”
“The veterinarian told us the dog is missing a hip socket,” said the
storeowner. “He’ll always limp like that.”
“That’s the one I want to buy,” the lad said quickly.
The storeowner replied, “No, you don’t want to buy that dog. If you really
want him, I’ll just give him to you.”
The boy came close to the storeowner’s face and said angrily, “I don’t want
you to just give him to me. That doggie is worth just as much as all the other
puppies and I’ll pay the full price. In fact, I’ll give you $2.37 now and .50 a
month until I have him paid for!”
The storeowner replied, “No, no, no. You don’t want that dog. He’s never
going to be able to run and jump and play like the other dogs.”
In response, the little boy pulled up his pant leg to reveal a badly twisted
left leg, supported by two steel braces.
“Well, sir,” he said, “I don’t run so well myself and that puppy will need
someone who understands.” (Story from Puppies for Sale and Other
Inspirational Tales by Dan Clark)
In 2 Corinthians, Paul wrote: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who
comforts us in our troubles, so that we can comfort
those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2
Corinthians 1:3-5 NIV).
God does not comfort us simply to make us comfortable. God comforts us to
make us comfort-able…able to comfort other people.
