It is an interesting thing to ponder the pursuit of God. If God exists, does He pursue us or are we supposed to pursue Him?
Position 1: God Pursues Us.
The first response is that He pursues us. Thus, it is God's role and ours to make Himself known and to seek a relationship to each of us. Some nonbelievers, called Atheists, deny the very existence of God and believe that if He exists it is His responsibility to both make Himself known and to demonstrate that He wants us to know Him. He must pursue us. Still others, who are believers, share in this idea but from a different angle. They believe that because of sin only God can pursue us and instill within us a desire to know Him. These adherents to a system of interpretation called Calvinism believe that God must pursue us because in our sinful condition. We are "totally depraved" and incapable of turning from our current way of life. Therefore, we cannot seek and pursue God until He first enables us to do so.
Position 2: We Pursue Him.
The second response to this question is that we are responsible for pursuing God. It is my responsibility to desire, seek, and ultimately determine if God exists and how He can be known. Thus, the responsibility lies with us. We are fully in control and fully responsible for the actions we choose. Adherents to this belief appeal to doctrines of Free Will and verses which speak of the individuals responsibility to turn from their current pursuits and instead seek God instead.
While both positions make good points, I believe that each touches upon an aspect of the truth that is one complete without elements of the other. It is certainly true that God is responsible for revealing Himself to us. He does this primarily through His Creation and through His Word. God reveals Himself through Creation and makes it clearly known that He can be understood by what He has brought into existence (Rom 1:20). It is also true that God has chosen to reveal Himself through His Word and more specifically the Word made Flesh, Jesus Himself (Jn 1:1-3). Thus, passages like John 3:16 tell us that God sent Jesus in order that we would not perish and have eternal life.
However, there is a role in Salvation that we are responsible in fulfilling. It is a role that accepts, receives, and trusts. It is not a role which earns any credits, merits, or rewards.
In 2 Chronicles 20, the Judean King Jehoshaphat prays to God asking God to fight for Judah. Several nations including Moab, Ammon, and some Meunites had come together to wage war against the nation. Recognizing his own inability to conquer such an enemy, Jehoshaphat states "O Our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You" (2 Chr 20:12). As a result, God does answer his prayer by sending Jahaziel to prophesy comforting words saying "Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's." (2 Chr 20:16). He goes on to say that God says to the people "You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem." (2 Chr 20:17)
The key here is that Jehoshaphat did do something. He sought and pursued God. Yet, God had been pursuing His people all along. Thus, after He saw that the king had taken a position of humility and placed his trust upon God alone, God responded by accomplishing the saving of the people. Judah's enemies, we read, turn upon themselves and destroy one another.
God waits for you to pursue Him. He has been pursuing you from your birth. He waits to award salvation to all who turn and believe, placing their faith and trust in Christ. He promises that as we seek Him, He will "allow Himself to be found". 2 Chronicles 15:2 states that "if you seek Him, He will let you find Him."
Our one passionate pursuit in life must be seeking God. No other can take its place. I invite you to seek Him from wherever you are in life. He promises to "let you find Him". This is because within the pursuit of God is the ultimate fulfillment of everything that you and I were meant to discover in life.
Joshua
