There’s a belief among many Christians that’s a death trap. It’s the idea that by pursuing what’s right, we are pursuing God.
Imagine for a moment you are in love. You pursue the heart of the person you love. You are passionate and communicate intimately with them. While you may try to show the person how much you love them by doing things to please them, that is not how you pursue them. That’s just a by-product of your love.
Think of Ruth, the woman who pursued Boaz, her future husband, by dressing her best and slipping in his bed to lie at his feet after he’d had a little much to drink. She wasn’t safe, worrying about what the neighbors or other church members might think. She wasn’t worried about doing the right and acceptable thing. She went after his heart by being vulnerable, not by standing firm in her good-girl shoes.
Think of the scandalous woman who tracked down Jesus at Simon the Pharisee’s house. She was captured by Jesus the moment she heard the gossip about Him. She didn’t recline at the table, discussing the Law with Him. She determined to pour out her love, and capture His heart. So she went for Jesus’ heart…via his feet. She did so by shedding her tears on his feet, washing them with expensive perfume, and drying them with her hair…all while kissing His feet! Oh, the scandal of it all fills me with excitement!! All the while, Simon, a Pharisee {those known for upholding and enforcing the Law} was chastising Jesus in his mind for not doing what he considered to be the right thing. And Jesus rebuked him.
…her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much… Luke 7:47
Notice that the above verse doesn’t say that her sins were forgiven because she did the right thing. Or because she upheld the Law. Or because she kept socially-acceptable standards. She simply loved much.
I dare say we needn’t even try to pursue doing what’s right. {Go ahead, call me a heretic.}
God is relentlessly pursuing us…our hearts…and all we have to do is give in to Him. Give in to His love. Communicate with Him. Let our hearts beat with His. Allow Him to develop intimacy with us. God is far more concerned with our hearts than with our actions.
God wins our hearts with His loving, tender heart. Do we really think he wants less from us?
When our heart’s desire is to pursue God, to know Him intimately, to become one with Him, we don’t have to worry about doing what’s right. Holy Spirit will teach us the way to live…and it may not even look like we expected. In fact, it might look a little scandalous.
