God as Initiator

Something very profound my pastor said this morning has continued to resonate inside me. God is the Initiator of relationship. He is the One who seeks us and desires to have relationship with us. Proof: "We love Him, because He first loved us." (1 John 4:19) We get this confused and therefore the way we relate to God is off, however subtly. We are not the pursuer. God has been pursuing us for a very very long time. That explains the entire Jesus and the Cross thing.

Once we realize that God is after us and that all we need to do is stop running and respond to Him in love and worship we enter into a relationship with Him that we all want. "I have a brother, when I'm a brother in need. I spend my whole time running and He spends His running after me." (U2 - The First Time)

Here is what this understanding does: it takes the pressure off of us. Our walk with God has very little to do with how much we do this or that or how often we do this thing. Realizing that God is chasing us, makes prayer a lot easier. It isn't about us convincing a distant God to listen to us and respond to us. Prayer now becomes a responsive thing, where all we do is ask questions and then listen to the answers and then act accordingly. It takes us out of the driver's seat.

This way of thinking and responding to God is how Jesus lived His life. "I do what My Father tells Me to do." (I don't know where this is, but if you need to know I will find it.) This is a lighter way to live than the way that I have previously thought. It enables us to live our lives and respond to God when He wants us to. Oh by the way, we are never really in charge of our lives anyway - God has it figured out. We just need to listen to Him and follow Him. I hope this helps someone. I am about to post a song or two as well, surprise not from U2.