CHASED DOWN!
Malcom Smith, one of my favorite speakers, always talks about God’s pursuing love for us. I remember one day listening to him speak in Va Beach about Psalm 23:6, a verse that I had always known as saying: “surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” Malcom taught that the original language of that text is better translated as: “Surely your beauty and love CHASES after me all the days of my life.” He explained that the word for “follow” was literally translated “as a dog pursues its prey”. Wow. That’s pretty strong, isn’t it? That means that wherever I go, beauty and love will be there! It means that I can’t outrun it. It means that it will ALWAYS be chasing after me. I tried this literally the other day. I held a “treat” in my hand for my dog, Windsor. That was his “prey”. I then began to just walk casually around the room, and he followed me step for step. I then began to run, and of course, he ran, too! I tried to hide from him by going into another room, but when I came out, there he was, patiently waiting by the door! Everywhere I went, he was there…completely focused on that prey!Last week, I was sitting on the steps that go into the garden behind my apartment building. It was a pretty day, and I was just soaking up the sunshine…with Windsor and some neighbor cats. Suddenly, i realized that a white TESCO bag was hanging by my head! (Tesco is our neighborhood grocery store) After I recovered from the shock of a bag appearing out of nowhere, I realized that my neighbor, a sweet older lady named Margita, had filled the bag with apples she had picked from our apple tree and was lowering it down to me from her apartment above me on a rope!!! I wish you could fully picture this in your mind! I was immediately aware that this was a special moment! How many times have we experienced someone trying so hard to bless us with a gift?? Margita and I are funny when we try to talk. She doesn’t speak English at all, and I struggle with my Slovak, so we have pretty funny moments trying to talk to each other. But she spoke loud and clear with this effort to give me a gift!
Yesterday, I was again sitting outside, but this time, I was on my balcony that looks out over our garden behind our apartment building. I was studying Slovak ( I thought I was alone, so I was reading out loud and reciting words I’m trying to learn). And suddendly, again, a Tesco bag appeared!!! But this time, it wasn’t being lowered on a rope. I looked over the balcony edge, and there was Margita….smiling and lifting a long tree branch with the tesco bag hung on the end of it to me! This time, it was filled with grapes and more apples! Again, I was overwhelmed by the effort to bless me with something good!
Slovaks are culturally very giving people. They are servants. I have been overwhelmed by their extra efforts to bless others. I want to learn from them. Today, I’m thanking God for the reminder that this is the way HE loves me. His beauty and love DOES pursue me like a dog pursues its prey. He CHASES AFTER me with His mercy and His goodness.
“Your beauty and love chases after me all the days of my life.” Psalm 23:6, The Message.
