A Loving Pursuit: Part 2 (Driven by Love)

January 13, 2014 at 1:01 pm (A Loving Pursuit, About Sin, Assurance, chastisement, correction, Devotional Series I Have Written, Devotional Thoughts., Discernment, Faith, Forgiveness, Glory, Grace, Guidance, Holy Spirit, Home Education, Homeschooling, Hope, Life, Lighter Burdens., Love, Mercy, Our Unchanging God, Parenting, Patience, Peace, Praise, refuge, Relaxed Homeschooling, Restoration, Righteousness, Salvation, salvation plan, shelter, Sins, Sovereignty of God, The Greatest Commandment, Transformation., Trusting, Truth, When you are afraid, When you feel bitter, When You Feel Like Crying., Wisdom)

Scripture reference;

“22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”  Genesis 3:22-24 KJV

22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of Us [the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit], to know [how to distinguish between] good and evil and blessing and calamity; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live[b]forever—

23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.

24 So [God] drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the Garden of Eden the[c]cherubim and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep and guard the way to the tree of life. Genesis 3:22-24 AMP

“17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.[d] 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” James 1:17-18 ESV

“14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.

15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.” 1 John 4:14-17 KJV

” 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. Psalm 23 KJV

When I think of the words pursue and pursuit and all of their forms and synonyms I think in terms of “following in order to catch someone or something”. However, when I read Genesis 3:22-24 it dawned on me that sometimes we pursue people and things not just in order to catch them, but also in order to drive them or steer them away from something for their own good. The ones we are chasing might know that or they might not, but either way it is still the right and loving thing to do.  It saddens me that the Lord’s children forget that; and view His rod and staff as instruments of torture rather than tools of protection and comfort. I am so forgetful.

Adam and Eve had been given hope when God promised to send an offspring that would “bruise the serpent’s head”. He fulfilled that promise and gave the world hope by sending Jesus, His only Begotten Son. You can read more about that here:

https://pronetoponder.wordpress.com/2013/12/22/a-loving-pursuit-part-1-in-the-beginning/  and here:

https://pronetoponder.wordpress.com/2011/03/15/very-important-words-about-salvation-2/ and here:

 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

“I and my Father are one.” John 10:30

 

All of God’s works are loving and wherever we find love hope will be very near.  

Can you think of a time the Lord did something that turned out to be for your own good when, at first, it seemed bad?

Please feel free to share it. I would love to hear about it.

 

Do you know Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord?  Please click here:
https://pronetoponder.wordpress.com/category/about-salvation-very-important-words/ and make sure.

Do you have a Bible? If you don’t have one, you need not worry. Just click here: www.biblegateway.com   They have many versions and translations of the Bible that you can read. Some of the best things in life are free!

photo credit:  pixabay.com

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