ODJ: God’s grand pursuit
October 29, 2009
READ: Psalm 8:3-8
What are mere mortals that You should think about them? (v.4).
The news story was the kind of breathtaking romance you would expect to see on the big screen. Patrick Moberg spotted a stunningly beautiful woman across the crowded Manhattan subway station, but he wasn’t able to reach her. In desperation, Moberg created a Web site (www.nygirlofmydreams.com) and began a search across New York City, looking for the girl whom he had glimpsed only once and yet could not forget. Remarkably, within 48 hours and in a city of 8 million people, Moberg found her: Camille Hayton, a young woman from Melbourne, Australia.
Whenever we hear a tale of outrageous passion, we can’t help but listen, watch, marvel. We’re drawn to the intense emotion, and we’re curious to know what motivates it.
In Psalm 8, the writer is in awe of the overwhelming way God pursued His creation—His people—with zealous love. David took in the exquisite examples of God’s power and reach (“the night sky and . . . the work of [His] fingers—the moon and the stars [God] set in place”) and sat in dumbfounded amazement over how such a powerful God could feel such intimate care for us (vv.3-4): “[Who] are . . . human beings that You should care for [us]?”
When we take an honest look at our brokenness, comparing our ways with the tenacity of God’s extravagant love, we begin to ask: Why would God love us so completely when we are most often so unlovely? Knowing who He is—and who we are—why would God pursue us?
The answer to these questions weaves through every page of the Bible. In a word, it’s love. God loved. And because God loves, God came to us and for us. —Winn Collier
Where do you most need God to pursue you? How does God’s pursuit of you reveal how you should love others?
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Even if you feel far from God today,
you are highly valued by Him.
He’s searching for you.
— David C. McCasland
(9 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODB: lost and found
October 29, 2009
READ: Luke 15:4-24
This my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. —Luke 15:24
A Wall Street Journal article by Jennifer Saranow chronicled the extraordinary efforts of middle-aged American men who are trying to find the favorite car they once owned and loved, but lost. They are searching on-line car ads, phoning junkyards, and even hiring specialists who charge $400 an hour to help them search for an automobile that once symbolized their youth. These men want the actual car they owned, not one just like it.
Some would call their efforts frivolous—a waste of time and money. But the value of a car, like many things, is in the eye of the beholder.
In Luke 15, people who were despised by their society came to hear Jesus. But some religious leaders complained, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them” (v.2). To affirm how valuable these “sinners” are to God, Jesus told three memorable stories about a lost sheep (vv.4-7), a lost coin (vv.8-10), and a lost son (vv.11-32). Each parable records the anguish of losing, the effort of searching, and the joy of finding something of great worth. In every story, we see a picture of God, the loving Father, who rejoices over every lost soul who is found.
Even if you feel far from God today, you are highly valued by Him. He’s searching for you. — David C. McCasland
Those who have been found should seek the lost.
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