A People Sought Out

Isaiah 62:6-12

Introduction

I want you to think about a time that you really felt loved. I don’t mean that you just understood the fact of it on an intellectual level but when you actually felt it inside of you. It could have been from a spouse, a parent, a child, a friend, or even a church. The relationship is not the main thing. What was it that took place that made you feel loved and why was it so important that the memory returns to you at this moment? Was it a gift? Was it someone sticking with you during a difficult time? Was it when you felt seen and heard? What was it?

One of the memories that comes to me is that of my father. My father struggled to express love and he did not often do that with words. One memory that sticks out was when he insisted and him and my mother attending the first wedding I ever officiated as an ordained pastor even though he did not know the couple and the wedding was out of town. His aim was to demonstrate it as pride but I received it as love. What act of love have you experienced?

Let’s keep on this theme but shift it a bit. Has there been a specific time when you felt loved by God? Perhaps it was when your faith became real to you. Perhaps it was at your baptism. Maybe it was when you took a major step of faith and God provided for you. Maybe it was when you had a sense of God’s presence at a difficult time. What was the way God demonstrated love for you that it left an unforgettable mark on you?

This last Sunday of Advent is a time for us to reflect on the theme of love. Love is one of those themes that we both are too familiar with and not familiar enough. The word is used to cover all sorts of experiences and is a universal theme for music and movies. But this is not something that we can afford to get confused about. It can be argued very convincingly that love is the central tenet of Christianity. If we do not understand this love, then none of it is going to make sense.

Contrasting With Biblical Love

Probably one of the most destructive trends in our society is the trend toward identifying love with a feeling. I do not want to be critical of emotion, as God created us to be emotional creatures. We are meant to not just think but to feel. The feelings of love that we experienced, when in healthy and appropriate relationships, are something that should be celebrated. The problem is about what we do when we no longer feel the love. That could be how we feel toward the other person or how we perceive how they feel about us. It is so hard for us to disentangle feelings from love.

However, the Bible does not assume that love must be recognized by feeling. Not that there is no trace of emotional love, Song of Solomon is a good example. But in general, love is demonstrated by action more than anything else. If you remember the movie Forrest Gump, the character played by Tom Hanks would say, “Stupid is as stupid does.” Well, the Bible says (in different words), “Loving is as loving does.”

As we have been looking at Isaiah, we have seen that each passage assumes that the people are going through very challenging times. The people are calling out to God and are eager to hear from the prophet. But what do they want to hear from God? It is not enough to know that God feels a sense of affection for them in his heart. They want God to love them but they want God to demonstrate that love in action. 

Once again the image of clearing the highway is brought up. The path is being made clear for God to come to them. In this particular passage, it is Jerusalem that is being addressed. Notice how intimate the speech is. Jerusalem is referred to as “daughter Zion.” One of the strongest bonds is between a father and a daughter. In this case, the promise is that God is coming with restoration. Yes Jerusalem has suffered but that is not the end. God has not lost his love for Jerusalem and will bring renewal. I have read this passage many times but in preparing for this message, I saw something that I never noticed before. The community is given a new name. This is a very common feature in the Old Testament and so we should not be surprised. However, this one really stood out for me. The final verse of this chapters says, “You shall be called ‘Sought Out.’”

Let that sink in. Jerusalem, the city that God loves is not renamed the Tolerated or the Acceptable but the Sought Out. This is what many people desire in a love relationship, not just someone to enter into a partnership with, but to be loved enough that they are sought out. And this is not just about romantic relationships. Parents seek after their children when they stray. We seek after our closest friends when we see them struggling. We do not seek after everyone but we seek after those closest to us.

This phrase is used again when King Saul is informed that he will be replaced with a more faithful king. “the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart.” (1 Samuel 13:14) David was so loved that he was sought out by God. Jerusalem, despite having made many mistakes, was still sought out be God. That seeking would lead to a real restoration that was love in action.

A Church Sought Out

When it comes to the Church, it is important for us to understand who we are? Are we a religion? An ancient tradition? A worldview? A collection of smaller organizations? All of those things are true but we are something more. We are people who are loved by God? I don’t mean to say that God does not love people outside the church, but the church has a special relationship with God. We can embrace the name of “Sought Out.”

The question we need to ask is how did God go about seeking us out? He did it in a very personal way, in fact the personal way possible. God entered not only into our world but into our experience as human beings. The Word became flesh. Jesus born in that manger was that highway cleared of all the rubble. God sought us out in Jesus.

Have you ever had a child or grandchild go missing, even if it was only for a few minutes? Have you ever been consumed with that one purpose of finding the one who was lost? That intensity is forged in love. That is the kind of love that God has for us.

God sees humanity in all of our pain and lostness. God feels more than a sense of affection for us, God experiences real love that is manifested in action. That action was the giving of Jesus. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. That is love that is intense enough to seek out the beloved. When we see a little baby Jesus in a nativity scene, we should see more than the central piece of a holiday display, we should see proof that God loves us enough to seek us out.

Conclusion

Do you feel loved in your life right now? You may or you may not. I do not want to dismiss the desire to feel loved. But I would like to add that more important is actually being loved.

I hope that you have people in your life that do love you and that you feel that love. But what ever your relationship situation, I want you to know something. God loves you. I mean God really loves you. As Isaiah said in his prophecy: “you shall be called, ‘Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.’” As relevant as that was centuries ago, it is just as important today.

How do I know God loves you? Two thousand years ago, a little baby was born and laid in a manger. That baby was the proof that God loves us with a seeking love. That Jesus continues to speak to us, reminding us that God desires to bring restoration and renewal into our lives. That is love in action. That is true love.