He who earnestly seeks after and craves righteousness, mercy, and loving-kindness will find life in addition to righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God) and honor. Proverbs 21:21 AMPC
At creation, man was given the same nature as God - part of which is creative power. Man was given dominion over all that had been created, and all that man needed to exercise that dominion was given to him. Before sin, it was not really a choice; man by his nature, sought after God. God would come down in the cool of the day to talk with the man. There was unbroken and unhindered fellowship. Then, sin happened. Man was tempted to seek other things that was not God's perfect will for him to have. Since the fall of man, man has been pursuing all the wrong things. The world now seeks to change all of God's definitions into the perverted version. What the world calls success is not how God defines it. Man spends his entire life seeking after the perverted versions, and for the whole of his life, he wonders why there is no peace of mind. If it is not from God, it cannot confer you with peace.
It is time to review my pursuits; what are those things that are taking my time, attention and resources? I have to know this one fact: the inner drives the outer. Whatever it is that takes my time and attention will be a reflection of my inner state. If all that drives me is how to better than my neighbour, that will define what I pursue. If what drives me is what pleases God, it will also show in the things I consider to be important. My heart is revealed by my pursuits and priorities. It must also be known that whatever the pursuits and priorities are, there are eternal consequences attached to them. It is not enough to just chase after anything; life is too complex to spend it in the pursuit of all that catches your fancy. God lays out the pursuits that line up with His will: righteousness, mercy and loving-kindness. These are the attributes of God, so I am simply charged to pursue after God. That is the life that God can bless.
For every pursuit, there is an end-game. God does not call me to pursue after him for nothing. There is an eternal gain at the end of the pursuit. There is a guarantee of life, not the kind that ends, but the one that goes on forever. Actually, life never ends; it continues in eternity, either with God, or away from God. There is no fence or middle ground here; you either running after God, or away from Him. Did you notice that what you get looks like what you pursued? If it is God you are chasing after, you will find Him; that is a guarantee. If it is the world that you pursue after, remember that the world cannot give you what it does not have, and it cannot also give you that which only God can give you. If I will end right, I must make sure that I am chasing after God. God's time of favour is here.
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