When I was sixteen, I was at a party when God saved me. I remember going into the bathroom and crying uncontrollably. For the first time in my life, I had experienced the vast love God had for me and my deep need for Him. Of course, I didn’t fully understand this love right away. But as the years went on and I began to learn more about God, I began to understand the pursuing love God has for me.

I say the pursuing love God has for me, intentionally.

Before my heart was changed, I was dead in my sin. Because of the pursuit of God, I was changed into a new creation. To say that God pursues shapes the way we view our salvation.

We can see in Ephesians 2:1 that we were completely dead in our sin and because of this, we are fully incapable of searching for God, finding God, reaching for God, or anything at all that puts redemption in our hands.

Just think about this for a second, it’s a tad morbid but just go with it. Imagine you were spending the day on the lake. And as the day was coming to an end and you were headed towards shore, you saw a man overboard. You ride up slowly and throw out a life raft. Unfortunately, you notice that the man floating in the water had already died. I would assume, because of logic, you wouldn’t throw him a life raft and wait for him to grab it. More than likely, you would reach down and pull his lifeless body out of the water.

Our spiritual state is the exact same thing. We are floating, already dead in the water. But God, being rich in mercy, reaches into the water and pulls us out. Not only does He pull us out of the water but breathes breath into our lifeless lungs.

The redemptive plan God has for us may not look as nautical, but it’s just as intentional. God pursued us in our dead state by sending Jesus. Jesus lived a perfect life yet died the death I deserved so that I could be pulled out and rescued from the water of eternal death. Through Jesus, a way was made to God so that I could be restored and in communion with Him.

And the most astounding part is that God pursued me while I was His enemy. We see Paul break down this idea in Ephesians 1:3-4, a good God pouring out blessings to a sinful world.

These spiritual blessings are not earned but freely given through the cross. The story of redemption that we get to experience by the forgiveness of our sin; being adopted into His family and receiving everlasting inheritance all while receiving additional grace each day.

When you think about the overwhelming amount of goodness poured out on us without doing, achieving, or earning anything, it makes these spiritual blessings that much more indescribable.

This acknowledgment should fill our hearts with gratitude rather than privilege. Causing us to worship in thankfulness and not entitlement.

These spiritual blessings that accompany the love of God are greater than any earthly blessing we could ever imagine. Because of the love He has for us, God chose and predestined us (Eph. 1:4-5). God brought us from a place of spiritual hopelessness to a position of eternal hope and belonging.

Thirteen years ago, because of the pursuing love of God, I was rescued. This redemption changed my name from enemy to daughter. This redemption gave me the richest blessings I could ever hope for in Jesus alone.

“The energy that has driven God’s plan of redemption from eternity past flows from the power of His love. He chose us and predestined us ‘in love’” John McArthur

By Emily Rico