I’ll make Aaron and his sons holy in order to serve me as priests. I’ll move in and live with the Israelites. I’ll be their God. They’ll realize that I am their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that I could live with them. I am God, your God. Exodus 29:45-46 (TM)

Its interesting for me to watch as boys pursue my daughters attention. It’s the natural order of things that God, the master artist, put into place when He created the universe as expression of Himself. John Eldridge and his wife have done a wonderful job of chronicling it in their books Wild at Heart and Captivating. The male pursues and the female seeks to be captivated. The man initiates and the woman receives him. God makes it clear throughout scripture this natural dance between man and woman is a metaphor, a word picture, of His relationship with us. He is the groom, we are the bride. He initiates, we receive Him.

That’s why I found it interesting, after chapters of God laying out the detailed sacrificial system in the book of Exodus, that God doesn’t say "the sacrifice will make Aaron and his sons holy" or "adherence to my rules will make Aaron and his sons holy." It is God Himself who makes them holy. God is the pursuer. God is initiating the relationship. God approached Moses. God instigated the Exodus. God is leading them to the promised land. God is moving in to live with the Israelites.

I still remember the cold February night in 1981 when I chose to receive Christ into my life. But before I received Him, He had spent years working to get my attention – slowly, methodically drawing me towards Him. I can look back and see the events, relationships and conversations that God sprinkled into my path to draw me in. God pursued me.

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and Captivated by Him Photography