We’ve talked about how we can summarize the Bible in one sentence (The Bible is the story of God pursuing us). No matter where we focus our attention, He is always running toward us, trying to bring us closer to Him. There is no better verse to describe this pursuit than John 3:16, which says:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
In today’s lesson, we will focus on how we should then respond, knowing these two truths:
- God always pursues us, and
- We are called to be the hands and feet of God on earth by modeling His love for others
We’ve talked a lot about what it means to show love to others – patience, kindness, not envying, not being rude, not boasting, not being easily angered and all the other elements of love. But today’s lesson is focused on how we should pursue others (just as God pursues us) so that we can then love them.
It’s easy to be loving once we know someone needs our love, but we can’t love them until we become aware of their need. If they don’t tell us, then we might never know. But if we call, email, or visit them regularly to check in, we’ll know more about what is going on with them and better understand how we can love them.
For example, a parent may hesitate to engage with their children regularly, especially as they get a little older, because they might worry about bothering them or taking them away from friends or other activities. The fear of being seen as a nuisance or a bother may outweigh our desire to pursue a deeper relationship with a child. But even in the worst-case scenario in which the child really sees it as a bother, the only negative result would be that the child might think, “why does my dad keep trying to talk with me?”. Ok…..that’s no big deal at all, especially compared with the potential good that can come from deepening and enriching the relationship through actively pursuing them.
And the same may be true of any relationship. We might think “they’re busy” or “I don’t want to interrupt them” or “it would be weird for me to be the one that always reaches out first”. But, again, the potential rewards far outweigh the risks.
When we pursue others, we are modeling the love of God who always pursues us. God will bless & honor these actions. And, being intentional about pursuing others will remind us that God is pursuing us, which may help us remember to quit running away so He can catch us more frequently.
Questions:
- Do you agree that the fear of being a nuisance or appearing awkward/weird can keep us from pursuing others more frequently?
- The lesson suggests the risks of pursuing others are not as great as we make them out to be. Do you agree or disagree?
- Is there anyone in your life you should pursue more regularly? If you are comfortable doing so, please share your examples with the group.
- Do you agree that pursuing others can also help us grow closer to God? If so, in what ways?
- If you wanted to create a plan to be more intentional about pursuing others, where would you start and what would be some of the key steps?
Men's Small Group Blog 