Picture yourself in an empty, doorless and windowless room – a vault-like box – that is increasingly closing in. Darkness not only surrounds you, it seems to be encompassing you. Worst of all, because you are tightly chained to the floor with unbreakable bands of steel chains wrapped around your ankles, wrists, and neck, there is nothing you can do about it. Not a thing! As the room finally locks down upon you, you are now forever stranded. You are more than stuck. You are stricken. Alone. Abandoned. Trapped. Forsaken. It seems you will now spend the rest of your life — and death — here in this cold, dark tomb.

But suddenly someone else bigger and even greater than both you and the room that became your tomb begins looking for you. He is searching for you; pursuing you. And when he finds you, he removes the room from over you and you see — and know almost by default — the face of your Creator, who all along knew where you were and who you were. As you look into his face, you realize he is stronger, greater, and wiser, and obviously considers you of great value and worth. In fact, to him, you are quite significant. So significant that he would pursue you simply because he loved you. You didn’t do anything to merit his search or warrant his action. After all, you were locked away. As good as dead. Gone. But your Creator moved from within himself to rescue you in spite of yourself. And now he stands above you smiling, inviting you to simply trust him to rescue you from the terminal plight you are in.

And that’s exactly what you do! After all, who could resist such love and grace. You jump to embrace this One who has found you, only to realize the chains which once so tightly held you were no longer there. And the room which was your death bed has now become your maternity ward — new life has sprung from what was sure death. What an unexpected miracle and undeserved transformation!

Such is God’s divine pursuit of us and radical regeneration of us! No wonder the Psalmist declared, “Salvation belongs to the Lord” (3:8).