About 12 years ago I went on a walk in the woods with a girl named Lyndsay. Now this wasn’t just any girl. She was special. Unique. One of a kind. I mean, the first time she caught my eye was on a softball field. She dove for a fly ball, caught it, and threw the ball all the way to 3rd base from center field. Double play. “Wow, “ I thought. “I’ve got to get to know this girl.” Not only was she drop dead gorgeous, but she had a cannon for an arm. Needless to say, I was picking up what she was laying down. I was digging her program. So from that day on, I was on a mission. It was game on.
Have you ever been in love with someone or even something? I mean, love makes you crazy and silly and childlike and you do and say things that makes no sense to others, but makes total sense to you. You look back and think, “Did I do that? What was I thinking?”
For three months straight, I woke up very, very early each morning and went to the gym to work out. Why? Because Lyndsay was going to be there and I just wanted to see her.
One time, since it was the dead of winter in Michigan and the sun hadn’t shined in months, I discovered what many know as, “Tan in a Can.” Bronzer. I admit this is pretty embarrassing. I applied some. Why? Because I wanted her to see me.
Another time I followed her home to see where she lived. I bought some flowers and wrote her a note and put it on her car. Why? Because I wanted her to know how I felt.
Three separate times I drove through the night to see her. From Daytona to Fort Myers to watch her play softball, from Tennessee to Michigan to see her graduate, and from West Virginia to Wisconsin to be with her for Christmas.
Now, this isn’t just about me. It’s about you too. You see, deep inside all of us is a desire to be fully known and fully loved. Whether we realize it or not, we want to pursue and know and love someone else. And vice versa. We want to be pursued, to be known, and to be loved. This is true for everyone, regardless of your religious background.
Author Donald Miller describes our lives as a story. He defines ‘story’ as ‘a character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it.”
In the greatest story ever told, the Bible, we find the main character, God, wanting something and overcoming conflict to get it. What did He want? A relationship with us. He wanted our hearts. So He was on a mission. He was on the move. It was game on. He would stop at nothing to get what He wanted. He was madly in love.
For over 2,000 years God pursued His people. He tried to get their attention in all kinds of ways. He created a beautiful garden. He painted a rainbow in the sky. He took them stargazing and promised and provided a big family in a new home in a new land. He got their attention in a burning bush. He heard their cries for help and He played hero and rescued them from their enemies. He parted a body of water 190 miles across and 7,000 feet deep so his people could escape the enemy. He made it rain bread and quail from Heaven. He provided water from a rock. Ultimately, he guided them into a better land. A land flowing with milk and honey and continued to protect His people from the enemy year after year after year. He never left them.
Why? Because He loved them. He wanted them to know Him. To love Him. He couldn’t stop thinking about them. He was head over heels for them. So He pursued and pursued and pursued and pursued.
But like any good story, there was conflict. What was it? Well, the people rejected Him. They wanted control. They had their own plans and agenda and didn’t want anyone or anything else getting in the way. He moved towards them but they turned their backs on Him. They were seeing someone else. Other gods. And the one and only true God, the passionate, jealous lover, who had romanced and courted His people for thousands of years, was heart broken. “Will they ever remember me? Will they take notice of me? Will they see my love for them is real? That I would do anything for them? What can I do to break through to them? Haven’t I tried everything?”
His heart was heavy. Tears streamed down His cheeks. There was in fact one more thing He could do. But He never thought it would come to this. It was the last resort. Despite all the rejection, all the empty commitments from His people, He still loved them. And He wasn’t ready to give up. Not ready to give up on us…
So, the time came. He didn’t send a letter or an email or flowers or a billboard or a t-shirt. Instead, He sent someone. Someone to walk with us. To hold our hand. To talk to us. To listen to us. To pray with us. To guide us. To protect us. To encourage us. To give us a hug when we need one. To pick us up when we fall. To comfort us when we cry. To celebrate when we celebrate.
John 3:16 describes why God sent this someone, “For He so loved the world (that’s you) that He gave His only Son. That whoever should believe in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
God loved us so much that He sent His most valuable possession. His Son. He didn’t just send Him to live with us. He sent Him to die for us. So there Jesus is. Spat on. Mocked. Beaten. Bleeding. Suffocating. Dying on the cross. Why? Because He was in love with us. He was a character who wanted something and was willing to overcome great conflict to get it.
It’s almost like God stooped down like a humble servant. Like He got down on one knee. In the dirt. He made Himself nothing. He emptied Himself. Crying. Desperate. Vulnerable. Pleading. And He reached into His pocket and presented something very precious. Something of extraordinary cost. Far more valuable than gold or silver. With His arms outstretched, he offered His Son.
And there we are. Maybe caught off guard. Surprised. Humbled. Speechless. Unworthy. Honored. And we wonder, “He wants me? Doesn’t he know me? But He loves me? He chooses me of all people?”
Friends, the God of the universe is proposing to you. What do you say? How will you answer?
Where ever you are today, please know this. There’s a God everyday on His knees before you with His arms outstretched, saying your name and asking, “Will you marry me?”
So may you make the right choice. May you say Yes with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. May you have eyes to see and love no one else. May you accept the offer to live a full and abundant life. May you spend the rest of your life with the one who loves you perfectly, patiently, and persistently. The one who knows you yet loves you fully. The one who laid down his life for you.
This is Jesus.