What If God Really Is Trying to Reach You?

John 1:1–5, Colossians 1:19–20

Episode Summary

In this episode of The Wilderness Devotional, we reflect on one of the most beautiful truths at the center of the universe:
Jesus isn’t done with us.

He didn’t just finish His work on the cross and call it a day.
He’s still working. Still pursuing. Still healing. Still saving.

“Jesus is eternally and tirelessly bringing everything and everyone together.
The energy of reconciliation is the dynamo at the heart of the universe.”
— Eugene Peterson

That’s the kind of quote you don’t just read once and move on from. It sits with you.
Because if it’s true… then it changes everything.

In this episode, we sit with that truth.
We wrestle with the gap between God and humanity—the chasm sin created—and the Bridge that Love built.
We reflect on Jesus as the Logos, the message, the Word of God to a broken and fractured world.
And we remember that God isn’t in the business of pushing people away.
He’s the kind of Father who refuses to rest until His kids come home.

Going Deeper

It’s one thing to talk about reconciliation as an abstract theological idea.
It’s another thing to feel the weight of it in your own bones.

To realize that this isn’t just about “those people out there.”
It’s about you.
It’s about me.
It’s about every wall we’ve ever built, every time we’ve turned away, every quiet rebellion we thought no one noticed.

Sin broke the world.
Sin separated us from the Source of life.
And we’ve all contributed to the fracture.

But Jesus?

Jesus steps into the ruins and starts rebuilding.

“For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,
and through him to reconcile to himself all things,
whether things on earth or things in heaven,
by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”
— Colossians 1:19–20

That’s what’s at the center of the universe.
Not cold laws.
Not divine indifference.
But relentless love.

I remember when I was younger, bridges scared me.

There’s something about standing over a gap, staring down into the void.
You feel the wind. You feel the weight of gravity.
You start to wonder—what if this gives out? What if I fall?

But the more I’ve lived, the more I’ve realized:
There are deeper gaps than the kind we build with concrete and steel.
The real fear is spiritual distance.
The kind of separation that leaves us wondering if we’ll ever be whole again.

That’s the gap Jesus came to close.

“God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
— Romans 5:8

He didn’t wait for us to clean ourselves up.
He didn’t demand perfection before building the bridge.
He came while we were still sinners.

Not to shame us.
Not to hurl us into hell.
But to stretch out His arms and say, “Come home.”

So many people see God as angry.
Like He’s standing at the edge of the chasm, pointing a finger, waiting to punish.

But that’s not the God I know.

The God I’ve met in Scripture, the one I’ve encountered in prayer, the one who’s carried me through seasons of wilderness—
He’s not looking to push anyone into the fire.
He’s begging us to cross over.
And the bridge is Himself.

“There is one God and one mediator between God and mankind,
the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.”
— 1 Timothy 2:5–6

There’s no other bridge.
No other way.
But the one way that does exist… is wide open.
And it’s made of mercy.

Devotional: A Prayer for the God Who Won’t Let Go

Jesus,
You could have walked away.
You could’ve left us in our mess,
left us to the consequences,
left us to the chasm we dug with our own hands.

But You didn’t.

You stepped in.
You stretched out Your arms.
You laid Your body down and turned a cross into a bridge.

You are the Way.
The only Way.

So today, I thank You—
Not just for the work You’ve done,
But for the work You’re still doing.

You’re still chasing hearts.
Still pulling prodigals home.
Still rebuilding what sin has shattered.

You are relentless.

So if there’s any part of my heart that’s still running,
Any lie I still believe,
Any corner that’s still afraid to trust You…

Pull me back.
Build that bridge again.
Bring me home.

And let me never forget—
Reconciliation isn’t just Your mission.
It’s my calling too.

Make me a bridge builder.
Make me more like You.

Amen.