Single or Taken

By Noella Seevaratnam

The heart of mankind indulges in two distinctive desires. To pursue and to be pursued. Often, the word “pursued” demonstrates a state of wantedness and being sought after. It’s what translates a soul from a place of individualism and singleness to a partnership of sorts, being “taken.” Unsurprisingly, that desire stems from a deeper longing of the heart to be pursued and to pursue God. During our annual Spiritual Emphasis Week, our speakers from Avant Life Church in Canada spoke about how God pursues mankind. 

Upon the arrival of the speakers, the Leadership Development Class was given the opportunity to choose the theme for S.E.W., and the choice was formulated based on what the Leadership Development (L.D.) class thought the school needed the most: to know the pursuit of God. Being a part of the L.D. class myself, the motive behind choosing the theme was to see our campus aware of the radical love of God, a move from mere legalism and religion into a genuine relationship. All the sermons were surrounded by the parables in Luke chapter 15: The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin, and The Lost Boy. The similarity in all these parables was something of value being lost and the withholder demonstrating an active pursuit in retrieving them. From a state of solitude to responding to the pursuit, all these parables ended with a permanent union. In the parable of the Lost Boy, Pastor Sarah highlighted how the father let the son go, but when the son realized what his life looked like outside the protection of his father, he ran back home to find his father waiting with open arms. Likewise, as a school, we were called into a similar response, not just to notice the pursuit but to respond. Pastor Ben, during the night services, emphasized the importance of repentance and how God’s kindness, God’s pursuit, leads us to repentance. Pastor Ben talked about how repentance isn’t just a heart posture but a direction, and that direction is our pursuit of God. 

God’s movement was indisputable during those days, and His heart for our hearts was notable. After each night service, the L.D. class and speakers prayed for students, and it was powerful to see how much God had touched our communities’ hearts. On the last night, a couple of seniors shared their personal stories and encounters with the love of God. There was also a beautiful dance performance and song presentation. 

Himani Alagan (12) shared some of her experience by saying that “there was something so powerful and magical about the prayer session on the third night, you could really feel the presence of God. The senior testimonies as well were so brave and moving, and it felt like God was really speaking to me through my classmates.” 

All week, we were shown how God pursues us. The question that remains now is, do we respond to the pursuit by repentance and union, or do we remain single?