Seeking Andrea

Sometime back in the 1990s, while our family was attending church, I was working at a sign-up table in the hallway while the rest of the family was in Sunday school. Our habit each Sunday was that the two boys, who were older, would leave their classes, meet up somewhere and go get my daughter Andrea, who was too young to make her way back to my Sunday School class on her own. The plan this particular Sunday was that after the three of them came to our class, Pam would bring them all to where I was working the sign-up table.

I saw the two boys coming, giggling and saying, "Andrea is lost!" Then I looked up and saw the expression on Pam's face and immediately went into crisis mode. Pam informed me that while the boys were walking Andrea to class, she got lost in the crowd and they could not locate her anywhere. Pam had informed the deacons, who had a communication system using walkie-talkies, and the whole group of deacons throughout the church were searching for Andrea.

You can imagine all the thoughts going through my head. Someone kidnapped her, or she just got lost and wandered off into the new construction area and is now hurt. All I knew was that I had to find her, and there was nothing and no one who could distract me. I even thought that if the pastor of the church were to stop me to talk I would have responded, "Not now, my daughter is lost and all I can do is search for her". I walked through the halls, ignoring everyone, eyes focused only on finding my daughter, my precious, lost daughter. Nothing else mattered at this point.

After walking the entire circumference of the church, I made it back to the sign-up table and was informed that the deacons had found her. Someone realized she was lost and graciously took her back to her Sunday School class. In just a few moments she and Pam came walking up to the sign-up table. I could tell by the look on her face that she felt a little guilty, thinking she might be in trouble. But all I could do was pick her up and hold her close in my arms, and just love her. I was so grateful that my daughter was found!

As I pondered the events of that morning, I was reminded of God's call on us to seek after Him with all our heart. And it became a picture to me of how we are to cast aside all distractions and set our heart on seeking Him, above all other things.

But then one day, as I was driving to work, again pondering this whole idea of seeking Him, it was as if God said to me, "John, you have missed the most important point here! What you need to realize is, this is the way I have been seeking you! You are just like your lost daughter, and I am constantly seeking after you. Nothing ever distracts Me in this. My love for you drives Me to chase after your heart 24/7. I am never NOT seeking after you. You are that much of a treasure to me. You are the one lost sheep out of the man's flock of 100. You are the woman's lost coin. You are the prodigal son and I sit on the porch every moment of every day, looking for the first sign of your return. You have no idea of the depth of My intense love for you."

I was overcome as I sat in traffic, waiting for the light to turn green. The God of the universe, the creator of all that exists loves me and seeks after me! Wow! All I can do is respond with love and gratitude. I even tend to come back to him like Andrea did me, with feelings of guilt, hoping He won't be mad. And His only response is to wrap His loving arms around me and hold me close to Himself, and just love me.

This is from Ephesians 3:14-19, in The Message:
"My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God."