I was cooking chicken quesadillas for dinner a few nights ago. I opened the cabinet to get the cooking spray and fumbled with all of the stuff on the shelf. The glass pepper shaker got away from me and fell from the cabinet, onto the counter, and then the floor.
Sigh of relief… it didn’t break.
Thirty minutes later I reached for my one month old iPhone X and was met with disappointment as I stared in complete disbelief at my cracked phone. What in the world happened? I had paid $80 for an “indestructible” glass cover. Who picked up my phone and dropped it, then put it back on the counter?
As that pepper shaker fell from the cabinet, it landed in the 1/16th of an inch space on the front of the phone that was not covered by the “indestructible” glass cover and shattered my phone with no harm to the glass cover.
Seriously… I was so mad at my bad luck. The chances of that happening exactly like it did are so small that it would be almost impossible for it to happen again.
Fuming, I went to take a hot, relaxing bath to calm myself. I turned the music on and the first song that played was “Relentless Pursuit” by Kim Walker.
You can have all of me. You can have every part of me.
It’s a relentless pursuit, relentless pursuit. I will not stop chasing after you.
And I am not afraid to run after you, to run with all my strength, run into you.
It’s a relentless pursuit, a passionate pursuit.
I will not stop chasing after you, the love of my life.
As I sat there, the song reminded me that we are all pursuing something but not always pursuing the God who should be the love of our life.
At different stages of my life I have pursued:
- Success in my career
- Nice stuff like iPhones, houses, cars, and other material things
- Weight loss and beauty
- Relationships and comfort
- Being “liked” by everyone and not wanting to disappoint anyone
- Perfection in all that I do
Relentlessly pursuing God means our pursuit of Him is unending, never ceasing, persistent, tenacious, and can never be stopped by anything. We pursue Him in everything we do and through everything He has given us. It’s hard… well, the bible says it’s impossible… to pursue the things of this world and also pursue our creator in Heaven.
Matthew 6:19-21 says “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
So, every time I see that cracked phone I am going to remind myself that earthly things have no impact on eternity. I’m going to thank God for my husband, who gave up his own birthday money to get me a new phone. And I’m going to relentlessly pursue God rather than pursuing things of this world, like a perfectly uncracked iPhone X.
A few additional verses that are relevant to the discussion:
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:31-34