God's Answer to Sin Isn't Distance, It's Pursuit

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So, he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. – Luke 15:20 (NLT)

Sin has three dimensions:

· Sin by us

· Sin done to us.

· Sin done around us.

Sin is you, me, and everyone around us.

Sin is systemic and institutional and personal. Sin is embedded into our lives.

There is a popular teaching that God can’t stand sin, can’t be in sin’s presence. It goes something like this:

· God is holy and loving.

· You are a sinner.

· God hates sin and can’t be in sin’s presence.

· Don’t worry. The cross brings good news because now the Father no longer sees you but instead looks at Christ and his cross.

Surprisingly when Jesus comes to earth He doesn’t start getting sick because He is now amongst sinners. In fact, He is found with sinners. He’s not disgusted by them but He eats dinner with sinners. He is found laughing in the presence of those who sin.

Of course, Jesus confronts the sin. Jesus is upset by harmful systems which is why He calls out the Pharisees. This is a justice issue which means He acts. You can’t have love without justice. Driving out the money changers was disrupting a sinful system that needed to be disrupted.

God sees us in our sin. He doesn’t retreat from us until we clean up. He steps into our mess, even when it is systemic, even when it is shameful, even when it is ongoing.

From the Parable of the Prodigal Son (which my church has renamed The Story of Two Lost Sons), Luke 15:20 (NLT) says, So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.

God is always looking for you, even while you are a great distance away and lost in your sin.

The moment you turn, the Father is coming for you no matter what condition you are in. Filled with love and compassion. He comes towards you every time with an embrace and a kiss. Whatever has separated you will be restored. God has designed for him to do the work to remove our sins from us. This work was done through the cross. We can do nothing to change the work that was done.

God is always looking for you, even while you are a great distance away. At your worst moment of being deep in sin, God runs to you, embraces you, and kisses you. You are worthy of the pursuit even if you are covered in pig remnants.

We so often use the excuse, I’ll turn to God after I clean up. God doesn’t want to wait for that. He just wants you to turn.

The Cross isn’t about God covering his eyes from you, it’s about God opening His arms to you, giving you a path to restoration while He continues to pursue you…even now.

Sin is real and destructive, but grace from God is greater. Grace doesn’t cover up your sin, it exposes it to heal you and make you whole. Grace is not an excuse to sin—it’s the power to overcome sin. When we realize how deeply God loves us, we begin to live differently—not out of fear of punishment, but out of gratitude. Gratitude leads to holiness.

You don’t have to get better for God. God doesn’t try to find you when you are good enough. No. God says, “You’re here—and I’ll meet you right where you are. From there, we’ll grow together. You can mature into who you already are.”

Questions for Reflection:

1. How does it feel to know that God is always looking for you?

2. How often do you ask God to forgive you of your sins? How does it make you feel when you do?

3. Have you ever really stopped and considered how deeply God really loves you? If you have never done this, please consider doing it.