What if we treated people with a relentless pursuit? I catch myself often thinking about why my feelings might be justified. As a follower of Jesus, I want and hope that my friendships and relationships with others are only honoring, but what happens when our inherent sinful nature seeps through the seams and infiltrates the trust and goodwill behind a connection. What happens when someone is impacted by something I did or didn’t do? Whether I dig my heels in and justify my feelings or vent to someone else about it, I have a choice on how to act or respond. As people living in a broken world, we can tunnel vision our feelings into “getting what’s mine” or convincing ourselves it’s not our responsibility to make sure other people feel a certain way. Yes, it may not be our full responsibility, that puts a skewed amount of weight on ourselves to constantly sustain that eventually would temper out, but what if we took ownership over what we could do, what we can control, how we show up for others, regardless of how someone else might respond. What if we treated other people with a relentless pursuit, no matter the response, or how it might be received.
A relentless pursuit means not giving up. It means that we aren’t responsible for how someone feels, but we can pursue others with fervor, loving others and doing our part. Relentless pursuit might look like being consistent, gentle, responsive or receptive, inviting. Relentless pursuit has the connotation of not giving up in a fight, or staying headfast in challenges. It may come to that. Those waves that change the tide may come, but relentless pursuit can also mean steadiness, gentleness, selflessness, self control. Maybe relentless pursuit with others is an extension of love, of showing up, and of the fruit of the Spirit. If we treated our marriages, friendships, family relationships, even acquaintances or strangers, like our mail person or neighbor, with relentless pursuit how much more pleasant or content or steady or filled with joy might those relationships be (or people feel).
