When I worked for Merge Healthcare, I regularly made the trek from Cleveland to Milwaukee. I made the trip so often that I pretty much got the same flights each time. The evening flight choices were an afternoon flight at around 4:30 and one around 8:00. Because I was such a dedicated employee, I usually always took the last one out. I gave a friend of mine who made the same commute grief because he always took the earlier flight. The problem was that the last flight out came from Newark so it was perpetually late. If you have ever flown in and out of Newark, that would not surprise you.
One particular evening, I got to the airport around 5:30 and found out that the 8:00 flight was going to be at least two hours late. All of the people that were on that flight were able to get out early on the 4:30 flight. So here I was, the only one on this flight. I inquired if they would cancel the flight and they said that the crew and plane had to be in Cleveland anyway as Cleveland is a Continental (now United) hub. So I was faced with the dubious honor of being the only passenger on a regional jet.
Now even though I knew that Continental was not going to great lengths to accommodate me. They would have flown an empty plane. But that did not stop me from feeling like a big shot. It was a very weird feeling sitting in that plane by myself. Extra peanuts please! I know that scenario will likely never be repeated in my lifetime unless I somehow actually become a big shot.
That story reminds in some small way of the great lengths that God goes to woo us, seek us out, redeem us, forgive us, sanctify us. In Matthew 8, Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee in the midst of a fierce storm to the Gentile region of the Gadarenes. There were two demon possessed, violent men who met him when he got there. Hardly a welcoming committee! Verse 29 tells us that Jesus was there to transact business with these men. The suggestion is that the Lord God in flesh made a special trip to redeem these men. He cast out the demons from them and allowed the demons to enter a herd of swine. When the swine rushed down a steep bank and drowned, the people implored him to leave and so he gets back on the boat to go back across the sea. As a friend of mine once said, he "got in, got the job done, then got out".
Many times Jesus altered his plan to seek out a single individual. This must have frustrated the disciples. Redemption from Rome was the larger issue to them. But the redemption of man was Jesus' larger mission. In order to achieve that mission, individuals matter. I cannot personally believe that the God would seek me out and personally desire a relationship with me. I mean the universe must have some bigger issue than what God is faced with my petty problems. But He does seek me out and He does seek you out. I absolutely believe that every day of my life.
I don't think God is passively waiting for us either. In the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 14, the father sees the son a "long way off" and runs to meet him. The suggestion is that the father was looking for his son each and every day and couldn't wait for him to return. He violated every social norm and runs with bare legs exposed to embrace his wandering son. I cannot imagine Continental holding that jet waiting for me to show up or the captain running to meet me when I decided to show up for my flight.
One more example. I used to tell my kids when they were little that we sought them and if they were the only ones on the earth, we would seek them out. Very reassuring for a little child. The truth however (I can say this now, they are older) is that we and they had no choice. We were stuck with them and they with us. However, adoption is different. When you adopt a child, you are actually seeking them out and making a decision to take them. Many adopting parents go across the ocean and put up with lots of red tape to find their child. I am so glad adoption is the model of the child of God (Rom 8:15, 8:23, 9:4, Gal 4:5, Eph 1:5). He is not stuck with me - he seeks me out and I truly believe that if I were the only one on this earth, He would still go to great lengths to adopt me into His family.
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