And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 (NKJV)

When I was a boy, our family would go to my father’s Air Force reunion every couple of years. This was the highlight of my summer! We would go to all the old hangouts, spend time with my dad’s old buddies, and, inevitably, they would start telling stories. The stories were the best part for a young boy. I loved hearing them. Stories all start the same way, ” Hey, do you remember…” Followed by, “Yeah, this, this, and this happened, right?” Then, almost immediately comes the clarification, “No,no, no, that’s not how it happened.” At this point, the last person launches into a lengthy, elaborate, and somewhat embellished diatribe detailing the actual, undisputed facts of the event.  The truth is, that is what best friends are for. They have known you longer, in most cases, than anyone and will unabashedly hold you accountable to the truth, or at the very least, their version of it.

Did you know that we as believers have the best friend anyone could ever wish for? God has known us since the beginning. Not our beginning, the beginning.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you;
I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”Jeremiah 1:5 

The Lord knew us before we were created.  Not only did He know us but he sanctified us; setting us apart as special. Incidentally, nowhere in that scripture does it say that sanctification is for Christians only. We were all set apart before birth. ALL people are special in the eyes of God. In short, God loves us all. We are the apple of His eye. However, just because someone loves us doesn’t mean that we love them back. We are the only creatures on God’s planet with the gift of freewill. We must accept His love.

God is waiting for us to say yes to Him. His word is a love letter to humanity. So much so that 630 BC, God told His people if they would seek Him with their whole heart, He would be found. Psalm 7:9  tells us that God tests the hearts and minds. God knows the heart of man and Jesus tells us “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Luke 11:9.

Jesus makes the offer of salvation to a broken world that God made to the Israelites. This promise of eternal life was bought and paid for by the death of Jesus Christ on a cross and His resurrection  from the dead. The question is are you all in? Perhaps you need to recommit to Christ. If so, do it; return to your first love.  Or maybe you stumbled on this article and it hits you funny. That is not a coincidence. What you are feeling is the tug of God on your heart. He set you apart, He loves you and he wants you to say yes.

Grace and Peace,

LD