The Relentless Pursuit

Surely none of us want our lives to be lived in vain. One of the mega-themes in Ecclesiastes is that any pursuit in life under the sun, apart from the pursuit of God, is like a chasing after the wind. Our quest for success, pleasure, happiness, leisure, or lust will always end in futility. So what are we called to pursue?

Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” The kingdom of God and the righteousness of God should be the final destination programmed into our life’s GPS. As we search after God first, those things that seemed so important seem to fade into a distant second (or twelfth!) Jesus explains later in this same gospel account that “all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Me… therefore, GO”. As we pursue His kingdom, He will begin to draw us on a “wild goose chase” that will lead us down paths we would have never pursued otherwise. And the motivation for these endeavors should never be the need in front of us or the personal burden or desire to serve others, but simply the call Jesus has placed upon us. In a word, that call is “love”.

Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:14 “For Christ’s love compels us”. It is the love of Christ that smuggles Bibles through Chinese borders, that spends a lifetime in a hard field with little fruit and no conversion, that gladly trades the mirage of safety and comfort in America for the unknowns of faith and blessing. His love wakens men to trade the corporate ladder for the servant’s seat; it harkens young women to abandon the pursuit of courtship and seek a better reward in serving their Bridegroom; it draws young and old to people that have never seen a white face, heard an English word, or the saving name of Jesus. His love leads a young family to leave all that is comfortable and ‘safe’ to plant a church in an unfamiliar city for His glory. The love of Christ calls the broken, the failed, the fallen, the forgotten, and the firm equally, to lose their lives to find what is truly called life by their Lord. What compels us? It is the love of Christ.

Paul says, “the love of Christ compels us”, which literally means, “to hold together, to press the ears together, to press on every side, to hold fast, to hold oneself to”. His love is a keeping love, as He holds us to Himself, holding us together. That gives comfort to the struggling marriage in the struggling work in a struggling field. That brings peace to a young couple looking for direction in a wide-open valley of choices and opportunities. That brings endurance to the missionary that is questioning the will of God and whether this furlough is their last. His love is a compelling love, a staying love, a love that keeps us close. And as Paul said, it may seem to others that we are out of our mind, but it is for the sake of God.

May Christ’s love be our sole and relentless pursuit.

-Pastor Pilgrim