God Never Gives Up On His Mission

Throughout the narrative of scripture, we have countless stories of those who choose to partner with God and His mission, and those who choose to do their own thing. It’s a wonderful thing that no matter what people do, God will never give up on His mission and He will always seek out those who are willing to partner with Him. But before we continue on, let’s discuss what God’s mission is. God needs nothing; however, He wants to partner with us. We read in Genesis that we were created “in His image,” and from the very beginning, God wanted an intimate relationship with us. In a spiritual sense, He wanted to marry His bride – mankind. And since that day in Genesis 1:26, God has wanted nothing more than to have a relationship with His creation so they can bless those around them. That is His mission. To partner with people who will love God, pursue Him, and trust Him so we can eradicate forces of evil and still maintain our freedom as individuals.

“Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’”

(Genesis 1:26 NIV)

Genesis 3 is the start of what some people may call “the fall of man.’ I, however, see this as a story that shows how loving and understanding God is. In Genesis 1:26-28 mankind is given authority over every animal, meaning when the serpent appears in Genesis 3:1, Adam and Eve have the authority to tell it to be quiet; however, they choose to listen to another voice. God gives us choice because if we had no choice then our relationship with Him would not be on the basis of love. Here we have a story of a man and a woman whose relationship with God is so deep, they know His sound in the garden (Genesis 3:10) and yet they still choose to entertain other voices of authority. But God, whose love is ever overflowing, doesn’t give them over to the serpent. Nor does He desert them. Rather, He vows to destroy the serpent in time (Genesis 3:15) and He chooses to remove Adam and Eve from the garden as God knows their newfound knowledge of good and evil will be worse in the garden than out.

There are many stories similar to the one above. Stories in the Bible of characters who partnered with God and made mistakes. Stories outside of the Bible of people whose lives have been transformed as they dedicated their lives and everything they have to God. The good news is, no matter what mistakes we make, we can live freely in our faith that we are declared righteous before God thanks to the eternal sacrifice offered by Jesus and through our belief, trust, and continued dedication to Him who is above all.

It is easy to look at the captivity and restoration cycles we see throughout the Old Testament of the Jews as God punishing and deserting those He is partnering with; however, a lens that I believe provides greater meaning requires us to ask a question each time we see this cycle repeat. What happened before this that they were taken captive? See as we seek to discover the reason we often find that God’s punishment is less a focal point. We start to see that God doesn’t desert His people and will always take care of those who are willing to partner with Him. God sends His people into exile for a multitude of reasons, and often it boils down to one central theme: In the conquest for wealth and expansion, the mission of reaching all people is missed. The good news is, God’s mission will never fail. He is a loving Father who takes care of all who are marginalized, facing oppression, and those who cannot fight for themselves. He doesn’t tolerate abuse. He doesn’t tolerate evil. No matter what happens, we can remain sure that our God and His mission live on, no matter the path humanity takes.

“Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind … Love your neighbor as yourself”

(Matthew 22:37,39 NIV)

As we reflect on God’s never-ending desire for love and peace, we can ask ourselves the same questions asked by those during the Babylonian exile – am I following God’s word? God doesn’t ask us to be some cookie cutter person. God asks us to put one thing above all else – love God and love others as you would desire to be loved. Will we be people who help God’s mission? He doesn’t ask us to be perfect. He knows we’ll make mistakes. The good news is we can live with the freedom that our mistakes don’t change our status before God. Let’s be as radical as our God and be loving in every circumstance (For further reading on how we can be loving in every circumstance, look at 1 Corinthians 13:4-8).

Have thoughts, questions, or other verses you think are applicable? Please leave a comment below! Join us as we focus this month on the radical love of God!