This past summer, I heard a sermon that was extremely convicting. The main idea the pastor communicated was that if you call yourself a Christian, are you living in a way that displays the faith you profess? I was troubled because I knew I had a great amount of sin that I had yet repented of. Was it not John the baptist that said in Matthew 3:2, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (ESV)? And then in 11:20, Matthew writes of Jesus, “Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent” (ESV). With this necessity for repentance, how could I then be a Christian?
After days of questioning myself, God and His Word pushed me to realize I was indeed a Christian. How did I know? I recognized that God was pursuing me, for His glory, even if I was not pursuing Him.
With this revelation in mind, I recall King David: a man who had enough faith to kill a 9 foot 6 inch tall giant and thousands more (1 Samuel 17, 18:7). He was deemed “A man after God’s own heart” (ESV). David, however, also committed adultery with Bathsheba, ordered the death of her husband and had no remorse for his actions. In today’s court system, David would be convicted of first-degree murder. How then was he so devout? In 2 Samuel 12:13, David repents, recognizing his sin. But how? God sends the prophet Nathan to convict David. Likewise, I was living in sin, not wanting to obey God’s commandments, but He didn’t let me disobey, He wouldn’t let me go. As much as I ran from Him, He searched me out and continually called me back to Him, just as He did for David and does for all His children.
My encouragement to you is to look back on your life, how has God been pursuing you? When has He not abandoned you, even when it felt like He was gone for good? See if your eternity is secured in the strong, neverending grace of Jesus (who did it all for His own glory, but that’s a Faith Focus for another time). And finally, meditate on the words of this old hymn, “O’ love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee.”