Acts 17:27  “His purpose in all of this was that the nations should seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him-though he is not far from any one of us.”

God’s purpose is that people would come to know Him through Jesus.  God wants people, all people, all over the world to find him and be in a relationship with Him.

I like the clarity and straightforwardness of what Paul is saying here.  God has a purpose, here’s what He wants, the plan is laid out through Jesus, and God makes Himself approachable, available, and attainable in a relationship with His Son.  Paul clearly communicates, God is not far away.  He is close and ready to accept me, because I put my faith in Jesus.

God seems distant or hard to find or difficult to relate to, not because of Him, but because of me.  When I sin and choose my own way, when I’m living for myself and trying to do things in my own power, when I am relying on my effort, that is when distance is created and the relationship becomes fractured.  I need to realize that though my sin, distances me from God and I feel far away, it is not God who has moved it is me.  And all I need to do is confess, repent, and ask for forgiveness and God graciously offers His love and forgiveness in such a way that the closeness is restored and the relationship is repaired.  My sin doesn’t negate or destroy the relationship, (I don’t lose Jesus when I sin) but it does create distance and damage, that the Lord is able to reconstruct because of His ability to love, forgive, offer grace, and cleanse me from all unrighteousness.

Lord thank you that you are close.  You are not a far off God.  You are intimate, loving, relational, and able to be found by anyone who is seeking after you.  Thank you for not moving away from me in my moments of selfishness, but patiently waiting for me to close the distance that I have created and gently forgiving, disciplining, and loving me back into a growing, thriving, close relationship with you.  Help me Lord to live close to you all the time and not to wander away.  Guide my walk, direct my steps, show me the path daily that I am to follow.  And help me to walk in your footsteps.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 25th, 2007 at 7:18 am and is filed under Daily Readings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.