S46P9 – A Father’s heart: drawing the broken
John 6:44-46
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore, everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father.
I had spent my youth observing what everyone else observes. Majestic hills and mountains lined many of my daily drives. The sky’s fickle nature of bright blue and dark gray, of sunshine and rain, covered me as anyone else. I witnessed birth and death, love and pain. All of the indicators that point to a higher power, a creator beyond this thing that is our world, were just as clear to me as to you. None of that, however, caused me to turn to him. It was God who intentionally used these things to draw me and bring me to an encounter with his Son. He did not leave me to discover him for myself; God caused me to discover him.
There is a gentlemanly quality to God that many say is evidenced in the fact that He knocks on the door instead of breaking it down. I cannot say that I subscribe to the idea that God never barges in. From my experience, the gentle rapping on the door was not effective. I needed God to let me experience not only the evils of this world but the evil within myself and have it bring me close nothing before I lifted my eyes to him. Yes, He courted me with the promises of comfort and provision, but He first drew me in through heartache and lack. He knows exactly what each of us needs to respond to his call, and that is how He calls us. It is grace and love that causes him to chase us first.
Scripture tells us that the world’s majesty is sufficient to evidence the glory of God, and no man has an excuse for not recognizing our great Creator. His proof is all around us and even inside us. The complexity of the human eye, the workings of the nervous system and the development of a child inside a mother all point to him. Despite this evidence, God still takes a proactive step to draw us to him and show himself to us. He is not satisfied with merely sitting back and waiting for us to stumble upon him. His love chases us beyond what we deserve because He desperately wants to call us his own. Father, thank You for drawing us to You first and desiring that we come to be your children.