Monday 12 October 2015

Listen, pursue, look

Isaiah 51
1 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, 
you who seek the Lord: 
  look to the rock from which you were hewn, 
and to the quarry from which you were dug. 
 2  Look to Abraham your father 
and to Sarah who bore you; 
  for he was but one when I called him, 
that I might bless him and multiply him. 

This passage tells those of faith to; listen, pursue and look. These things aren't optional, they're not suggestions but instructions, we're told to do them.
These things all take effort. They are not passive things, we have to decide to do them and do something about it.

So, if you are a person of faith, or know someone who is, are they doing these things? Are they listening, pursuing and looking for what they believe? If people truly have a faith, they should be active in it.

The first thing we're instructed to do is listen. 
We have to decide to listen, make a conscious effort to engage our ears and our brains and make time to do it. We all know it's difficult to listen - I am sure we've all 'switched off' at some point in our lives, usually when things get a bit boring, or we are distracted, but have we 'switched off' hearing from God? Do we make time to listen out for what God may be saying? Like any relationship, this relationship grows when the conversation is two way. Do we just go on at God? - Tell him our woes and shopping list then get on with our lives? Or do we wait to se if there's anything He might like to say back? Or do we ignore the prompting He gives because we don't like it? 

Next is the word pursue. I like this word, but find it challenging. Pursue is an active word it's to; actively seek, chase after something. Commitment and perseverance are required. In this case it's to actively seek and chase after being right with God. Many people of faith believe and accept certain things, but are they actively chasing after God? Are they persevering and committed in their faith? 
Pursuing something is hard work. It takes effort, energy and time, it can make you feel worn out. When I think of pursue I think of running after someone or something. Pursuing means you're always behind but trying to catch up, trying to get somewhere you're not yet. There's always Improvement to be made. 
If you know people who profess to have a faith, are they actually chasing after what they believe? Are they learning more about their faith and taking an active interest? Are they changing? 
Sometimes you may see it, other times it's more subtle, but if we truly pursue God, we should be changing. Whether it's growing in patience, kindness, peacefulness, or compassion, to name a few - we should be growing and changing. 

Look. Look at what? This passage encourages us to look at Abraham. He had a long history with God in his life. We can look to the Bible to see some great heroes and heroines. They got things right and got things wrong. We can learn from others of faith. Who do you know that has a long history of faith? Maybe you can learn from them? Paul who has written some of the Bible says, 'follow me as I follow Christ'. He recognises we're all human and imperfect, but in the things I'm doing right, look at me and learn from me. Don't focus on the other stuff, because if we are still pursuing then we are not there yet and we are hopefully in the process of improvement!

Maybe today take a moment to reflect, are you listening, pursuing and looking? 

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