And, light. Let's talk about light for a second.
Light moves at 186,000 miles a second. To put that in perspective, light could circle Earth seven times in one second. That's about 6 Trillion miles in one year. To the sun and back more than 30,000 times. That's fast!
You still with me?
As fast and mind blowing as light is, an even more amazing fact is that it is always traveling at the same speed regardless of the motion of objects. In other words, it's always pursuing objects at the same rate of speed, no matter how fast those particular objects are going. If you're traveling at 1,000 miles a second, away from light, it is still pursuing you at 186,000 miles per second. The motion of the observer is irrelevant.
Amazing, right?
Well, I see God's pursuit of His children similarly. His pursuit of us is non dependent on our motion of movement from or to Him. I think so many of us equate time with distance. We feel that if it's been some time since we've connected with God, then He must be far away. Or, we feel His distance is in direct correlation with things we've done. The worse the act, the further away He is. And worse yet, what if we've done something really bad and allowed a lot of time to pass? Then, God must be too far away, right?
No. His pursuit of us is greater than that of light. No matter how fast we move from HIM, it is impossible to outrun Him. He's right there. All we have to do is simply turn around. Repent. And, God says if we confess the things we've done to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us and purify us from all unrighteousness. He takes our wrong doing, sin, and separates it from us as far as the east sky is from the west. Notice how He didn't say north from south. That's because if you head north and you pass the north pole you'll begin heading south. The same is true if you head south and pass the south pole you'll begin heading north. However, if you head east and keep going all the way around the planet, you'll always be heading east, you'll never head west. The same is true if you head west. East to west is an infinite line that goes on forever. And, once we confess and repent, God says He separates our sin that far. He goes on to say that He drops it in the sea of forgetfulness and remembers it no more! Pretty awesome, right?
So, why do we not take full advantage of it? I believe the most common reason is that we just don't know how loved we actually are. I believe that if we truly knew how much God really does love us, there would be almost nothing we couldn't accomplish with His help. The creator of light itself and everything else has actually numbered the hairs on your head. He loves you so much, my friend.
I remember one night many years ago, I was praying while driving. I had an open sunroof in my car that night and I kept looking up toward the stars while I was praying. As if God was way up there. I'll never forget God's voice. It wasn't audible, but still pretty loud. He spoke this to my heart. "Why are you looking out there? I'm right here, next to you."
But, Joe, if you had any idea what I've done or how long it's been?
I wish I could somehow convince you that it just doesn't matter. He's right there, next to you. All you have to do is turn around!
One of my favorite CDs this year is the new one from Matt Maher, "The Love In Between" On that CD is a great song, "Turn Around" that drives home this point. Well I won't say, that you will never fail again
But there is graceTo wash away your every sin
If you're scared that you don't matter
If you're lost and need to be found
If you're looking for a Savior All you gotta do is turn around
To find out more about Matt Maher and his newest project, please click here; http://mattmahermusic.com/
If I can be praying for you, please don't hesitate to let me know; joeb@newlifemedia.org
Joe Buchanan serves New Life Media as Network Music Director.www.newlifemedia.org (WBGL,WIBI & WCIC) We work very hard to honor God through serving you. Your input is very important to us and decisions are made regularly, based on the opinions you have. To assure that your opinion is being heard, please join our Music Advisory Panel today. Click on your station for a direct link. Thanks!
Music Advisory Panel: WBGL WCIC WIBI
