What You're Chasing

Personal opinion? The minute we stop chasing after something, we're dead. Maybe not literally, but if our life has no goal, if our life has no purpose, why do it? Trust me, I'm not advocating for suicide. But doesn't everyone want to know they serve some sort of purpose? And I think it matters as well, what we're chasing. Chase after the wrong thing, and you just might get it.

Years ago, changes in our homelife required me to go to my boss and ask for an accommodation regarding my work hours. He was more than happy to oblige. However, as kind as that was, it was a change that left me feeling absolutely useless and so UN- a part of the team. There was really nothing else for me to do at that hour. I waited for some crisis to occur, some other employee to call out, just so I could, once again, have a purpose. All the answers I would have been pursuing and problems I would have been addressing during my original hours were unavailable to me now; and whatever needed to be done on this shift had been previously assigned to the original people on the shift. I spent night after night writing and doing my Bible study at my desk. Fun, cool, but not what I was supposed to be there for. I felt without purpose. And it was a really miserable place to be.

Philippians 3 is an interesting chapter about pursuit. As a matter of fact, the high school from which I graduated used a portion of this passage in conjunction with the school motto: The pursuit of excellence through Christ. In this chapter, God, through Paul is explaining to the people of Philippi (and by extension, you and me) that there are those who would have them pursuing the wrong things, the outward "signs" of following the Lord, the symbols and rites of the faith rather than Christ Himself. Paul says All of that manmade holiness, all of that religion, I count as loss (translation mine). He came to know there was nothing he could do to be counted holy, none of that stuff made him righteous. He even penned these words to the church in Ephesus:

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

~ Ephesians 2:4-9

It was all grace, and the only thing left for Paul to do, the only thing left for us to do is pursue Jesus. Paul committed to staying as close to Him as possible, to doing all he could to know Jesus better --in power and in persecution. He wanted whatever it was that Christ was willing to give him, the fullness of the life for which Jesus died to give him. Paul said I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Paul wasn't satisfied with simple fire insurance: I believe in Jesus; I go to church on Christmas. He wanted it all --as much as he could savor eternity in this world, as closely as he could walk with Jesus, as nearly as he could look like his Savior --that's what he wanted. That's what he pursued. And he urged us to join him in his pursuit!

I remember telling some of my friends, I don't want to miss this! I wasn't talking about some sort of fear of disappointing Jesus or not hitting the mark. I wasn't talking about failing Him in some way. What I meant was, I want whatever it is He is willing to give me in this life! I want to experience as much of eternity, become as much like my sanctified self as possible before I ever hit the pearly gates! When someone hurts me, I want to respond with love. When someone inconveniences me, I want to ask What else can I do for you? When someone is sick, I want to respond with compassion. When someone gets the thing I have been longing for, I want to rejoice with them. When things don't go as I planned, I want to rest in knowing this is what Jesus is taking me through, for His glory and my good! I want to imitate Paul and the other glorious saints as they sought to imitate Christ. And I want to celebrate that, as I pursue Jesus, His Holy Spirit will faithfully continue the work already begun in me.

So, are you pursuing something? If so, what are you pursuing? or who? Is it going to lead you to the purpose Jesus has designed for your life? or is it going to lead you to something else? Are you feeling as though you are part of something much larger than yourself? or are you sitting under a blanket binge-watching Reacher and waiting for your phone to ring? Is there life in your life? or are you going through the motions? Is what you're chasing worth the effort? or will it lead to disappointment and heartache?

Jesus is worthy --of our worship, of our gratitude, of our love, and of our pursuit!