He's Running After Me

I was browsing a forum this morning that asked, "Christians, what is your favorite Bible verse?" The verse that immediately came to me was a verse I claimed to be my "life verse" as a child. The verse is Jeremiah 29:13 - " And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart."

Immediately, I realized why I chose that verse. Growing up, we were all trying to do, do, do. We were trying to earn God's love, earn an external appearance of holiness. When I would read this verse as a kid, it reminded me that I needed to work harder. If I didn't work at being good, work at being Holy, I would not find God. I thought if I had any sin in my life, I would not find God.

I manipulated this verse to fit the lies I'd been taught... that I need to find God. No, God comes to me. He comes to me with unconditional love, regardless of my flaws, my failures, my sins.

What's really happening in Jeremiah 29 is that God IS coming to the people. He's calling them to himself, but they are rejecting. I don't have to run after God. He's running after me.