In the movie “The Last of Mohicans” starring Daniel Day Lewis, the movie begins with two fur traders in pursuit of a deer during the colonial days of America. The deer runs quickly through the dense forest in an effort to elude its pursuers, but the fur traders are not quick to give up. Step for step with the deer, the fur traders vigorously cut through the bushes gaining ground on the deer. Finally, Mr. Lewis (one of the fur traders) reveals his musket and takes aim. The deer obliviously passes before the line of fire and the trigger is pulled. The deer dies and the fur traders are victorious. In the same way, God is not a passive bystander. C.S. Lewis called God a hunter and I agree with him whole-heartedly.
Like the deer, mankind runs from God. In the garden of Eden, right after the fall of man, the voice of God was heard walking through the garden, which I believe was a normal occurrence for Adam and Eve, but both of them hid from the presence of God—-they ran from him and mankind has been doing this up to this present day. I believe we run for many reasons. We hate the fact that there is something greater than us, who is holy and perfect. We detest the fact that we are created beings and out Creator demands things of us which is devotion to Him on His terms. So since we can’t beat God we run from him and play the game of “Catch me if you can.”
However, as the fur traders were victorious over the deer, God is victorious over us. Run we may, but God never gets tired and knows how to corner us. Our philosophies, activities, ideas, and indifference will not shake the Lord. Granted you can run to the end of your days, but you will face Him one way or the other. God hunts us not to kill us physically, but to destroy the sinful lifestyle that puts us to flight in the first place. The sinful nature must die or we all will sprint right into Hell, which God has no pleasure in witnessing such an act. Forgive me for being crude, but the bullet God uses to bring us to a place of death is the blood of Jesus Christ. Without the blood of Jesus there is no rest; no safe haven from the judgment of the Lord, and yet the Lord Himself gave His only Son that we might find rest in Him.
Maybe the deer illustration isn’t the best, but God is a hunter and we are either running from Him or have done it in the past. Running from God eventually puts you in Hell, dying to God brings you to God’s grace, love, and mercy—–dying to God is a glorious thing.