![The Rev. Mark Broadhead is pastor at Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church of Crestview. [FILE PHOTOS | NEWS BULLETIN]](http://127.0.0.1/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ghows-DA-5ebc6c22-16f4-38e2-e053-0100007f3012-01c22a8d.jpeg)
With this article I wrap up my brief thoughts and reflections on Psalm 23. It is a very short psalm, only six verses in length, but provides powerful insights for living life.
Verse six states, "Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever."
God never gives up on you. He never says, “I quit. I have tried to teach you. I have tried to get you to listen to me. You just don’t seem to get it, you thick-headed mule. You’re on your own from now on.”
God doesn’t say that.
If you are ever stubborn or ignorant of his presence, when you give in to the various temptations that lead you into sin, God never gives up his pursuit of you.
That’s right. God pursues you.
The truth of the matter is the Bible gives a strong and clear message of how God continuously pursues each person and longs for each to turn to him, no matter the circumstances.
No matter the depths of cruelty to which someone might stoop, no matter the severity of a poor decision, no matter the ugliness that may swamp someone’s life, God never gives up on them. Right up to the very last breath of life, God offers his love. All that is needed is for that love to be recognized and accepted.
When that love, forgiveness and grace are accepted, God has promised through Jesus Christ, that you will live in God’s house forever. That is the promise given to each and every person who recognizes what God did by coming to this earth in Jesus Christ.
God came to this earth himself. He came with an invitation. His invitation is to take time to eat, drink, and rest in his presence a little bit each day. His invitation is to let him strengthen you for the challenges that are faced every day, to strengthen your faith in him.
Our Lord’s invitation is to remember that no matter what you go through, he is beside you to guide you along the way. His invitation is to recognize just how much he honors you, regardless of what others may say to you or about you.
Our Lord’s invitation is to remember he will never give up on you, even when it seems as though others may have. His invitation is to hear and accept his desire for you to live with him forever in his home when this earthly life is over.
Can you, will you, hear his invitation and accept it?
The Rev. Mark Broadhead is pastor at Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church of Crestview.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: How to live with God forever