Pursuit

A handful of troubled adolescents that I am involved with decided to skip out on school mid morning today and take off for a little extracurricular adventure. When I heard mid morning that their school had called to report them missing, I simply could not help but get in my car and start looking. I was driven by a need to pursue them.

Unfortunately, I have been in this position before--trolling shady parts of town for wayward teenagers. Because of my concern, I went driving through places I wouldn't otherwise know about, through motel parking lots I feared they may have visited and combed neighborhoods I wouldn't otherwise have a need to enter.

I wasn't the only one--there were a couple of other concerned adults in their cars and on their phones trying to track these teenagers down to save them from themselves and from people who might want to take advantage of them.

I was disappointed in these kids' choices. I have taken two of these girls to church--tried to reach out to them. One comes to Bible Study weekly by her own volition. Yet, they, like me, have a sin nature, prideful hearts that can't seem to help but want to take matters into our own hands sometimes rather than waiting to see what God might have in store in His timing.

I wondered if these teens had any idea the lengths we were going to in order to locate them and bring them to safety or the schedules that were rearranged at a moment's notice because they were our most important priority. I wondered if they even knew the danger they might be in, the consequences that would await them, the foolishness of their momentary decision to take off. I thought of the parables...the lost coin, the lost sheep, the prodigal son.

Then it hit me. It isn't 'me' that had an overwhelming need to pursue them. It was my Jesus--their Jesus. I thought of the picture He paints for us through Scripture of His great pursuit--the places He will go to pick us up and snatch us out. Because of His example, I did not wait for them to call for help. We went after them before we had heard an apology or a cry. We sought them out because we care for them. Period.

"Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well."
~Come Thy Fount, hymn

How oblivious most of us often are to our need to be rescued, the danger lurking, the consequences of our impulse decisions! Why did they run? Why do we run? How does our sin nature manage to convince us that we are strong enough and smart enough to make it on our own?

"Prone to wander, Lord I feel it.
Prone to leave the One I love.
Here's my heart, O, take and seal it.
Seal it for thy courts above."
~Come Thy Fount, hymn

I did not find them. After looking for a bit, I had to return to other tasks and 'just' pray. Within a couple of hours, the teens were recovered safely and now face consequences for their rebellion.

Tonight I am left with a vivid picture of our God who pursues.