May 28th, 2022

Does God come to us or do we come to God? I’d like to consider four passages of Scripture that help to answer this     question.
 
The first is in the Book of Hebrews.
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him. (Heb. 11:6 NASB 2020) 
 
This indicates a responsibility for the one “who comes to God.” Of course, the focus of the verse is the belief or faith of the person who comes. This verse puts the responsibility on the seeker to come to God.
 
The second passage is found in James chapter four.
Come close to God and He will come close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (Jas. 4:8 NASB 2020) 
 
James puts the responsibility squarely on us to “come close to God.” The Book of Revelation invites us to come to God, to take freely of His offer of life (Rev. 22:17). So once again we see our responsibility here to come to God.
 
The next two passages indicate that God came to us.
 
The first is in the Gospel of John.
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. (John 6:44 NASB 2020) 
 
Clearly God is involved in drawing us to Jesus. Whether He simply ‘clears the path’ for us to come to Him at the right time, or, whether there is an almost irresistible attraction that brings us to him, it’s not clear. What is clear is that God is
actively involved in “drawing” us to Jesus! And we can’t come to Him unless God draws us.
 
The final passage to consider is John 12:32.
“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.” (John 12:32 NASB 2020) 
 
Jesus is actively involved in bringing people to a saving knowledge of God. He draws us to Himself.
 
So, did we come to God or did God come to us? It is an amazing moment when we realize that it is both/and. We come to God, and God comes to us. We don’t find God until He first finds us. And God doesn’t have us until we first come to Him. As a new Believer, I thought it was all on me. That I finally came to my senses regarding my need for God and so I
exercised my will and deliberately prayed to invite Him into my life to save me. At the time I didn’t understand the active role God played in my coming to Him. Because of passages like these (among others), I do understand it now and I am so glad that He saved me!
 
In Christ our living hope,