Day 33: Jesus is a Relentless Pursuer

He also said, “A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate I have coming to me.’ So he distributed the assets to them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered together all he had and traveled to a distant country, where he squandered his estate in foolish living. After he had spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he had nothing. Then he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. He longed to eat his fill from the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one would give him anything. When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food, and here I am dying of hunger! I’ll get up, go to my father, and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I’m no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired workers.”’ So he got up and went to his father. But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him.” LUKE 15:11–20

I’VE SPENT A LOT of time volunteering at a faith-based, residential program for women recovering from addiction to drugs or alcohol in downtown Nashville. If you’ve ever had the privilege of spending time with recovering addicts, you know it’s an amazing experience as well as a very messy, complicated, and often brutally honest one. Women who’ve been busted for possession with the intent to sell and have spent years in prison as a result usually don’t feel the need to wear façades anymore. Frankly, I wish our congregations and small groups and Sunday school classes were as authentic as the addiction recovery community.

Anyway, as a result of my volunteer work, I’ve had the undeserved privilege of being invited to attend a few Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings. And my friend “Becky” shared a story at one of those meetings that wedged itself deeply into my heart like a redemptive splinter. (Please note: I’ve changed the identifying details in this true story out of respect for my friends and my pledge to keep their stories anonymous.)

As is customary at every AA or NA meeting, she began with the phrase, “Hi, my name’s Becky and I’m an addict.” After the rest of the group responded with a hearty, “Hi, Becky!” she began with the happy proclamation: “I was so thankful to be cleaning those tubs today, y’all!” As the rest of her testimony about how Jesus (whom she’d given her heart to as a little girl before physical and sexual abuse sent her careening toward self-destruction) had turned her life around tumbled out, I found out the day of the meeting coincided with her first day of employment at a hotel.

She explained how grateful she was for her new job as a full-time maid because she’d pounded the pavement for over a month and had turned in one hundred and fourteen job applications before finally landing a gig. Mind you, it wasn’t her first day of work, but it was her first eight-hour shift with a company that pays Social Security taxes and gives its employees benefits. Her former job had been selling her body to men who sometimes handed her a twenty-dollar bill or a small rock of crack cocaine and often gave her a sexually transmitted disease or a closed fist across the face.

I don’t think I’ll ever forget the last thing she said at that NA meeting. She shared how earlier that day she’d stood up in the hotel bathroom she was cleaning to stretch. When she did, she caught her reflection in the mirror. Her voice caught for a second while she was describing the scene and she took a deep breath to steady herself, then she said firmly, “That’s the first time since I was six- or seven-years-old that I looked in a mirror and liked what I saw.” She’s beginning to believe again how very much Jesus loves her. She’s finally beginning to respond positively to His relentless pursuit.

Becky’s personal revival reminds me of that familiar story in Luke’s Gospel account. When Jesus narrated a somewhat cautionary, ultimately heartwarming tale about a rebellious young man who coerced his dad into giving him early access to his trust fund. You probably remember that prodigal went on to spend it all in some ancient Vegas—on cards and call girls—and ended up living in the equivalent of a homeless shelter. There, he finally recognized the foolish and destructive nature of his hard-partying lifestyle and decided to go back home.

He was broke, humiliated, and repentant. But on the bus ride home, he began to ponder what his dad’s reaction would be to his homecoming. He assumed that, at best, he’d receive a furious lecture and be exiled to their garage apartment. At worst, he probably thought he’d face banishment from his family forever, the thought of which made him despondent. He could barely raise his head from his hands when the bus driver announced his stop. But then, as he paused to adjust his heavy backpack while descending the bus steps to keep from toppling over, he spotted his dad running across the parking lot toward him, waving his arms wildly over his head, and bellowing, “Son, son, over here! I’m over here! Welcome home. . . . WELCOME HOME!” And that precious prodigal was stunned speechless when his father rushed up and pulled him into a prolonged bear hug.

Jesus told that beautiful story to breathe redemptive hope into the Becky who resides in some small corner of all our crooked little hearts. To reveal that His love is bigger than our rebellion. To illustrate that no matter how far we wander, we will always have a welcoming embrace to come home to. To bellow that instead of abandoning us to our sin, He will run to redeem us. His grace really is that relentless.

• READ PSALM 23:6. How does it affect you to find out the word follow in the original language actually means “to follow after,” as in, to pursue? In other words, God’s divine mercy and goodness aren’t rolling along behind you like a caboose, they’re chasing you like a bloodhound!
• READ PSALM 139:7–8. Since God is with us everywhere we go, do you think loneliness is a true reality for the believer, or a warped perception caused by unbelief? What steps could you take to increase your awareness of God’s nearness?
• ARE YOU RUNNING from God in any area of your life? Why? How does this story help infuse you with the courage to run home to Him?