| |||||||||||||||||||||
ATTRACTED OR DRAWN, Sandra Lugo
"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him." John 6:44
Attraction is physical. It includes desire and it is a pleasure based principle. Attraction is an inward force that compels forward. To be drawn is quite another thing. The word "draw" means to cause to move in a particular direction by a pulling force, to drag, to bring toward oneself by inherent force. Attraction is a personal inward force that pulls from the inside out. Drawn is an outside force that pulls in. Here we understand that when a person is drawn to Jesus, it's not the force in them but the God outside of them that pulls them to Jesus. A fish is drawn by the one that has captured it. Although, it fights on the way, it is pulled by the force of the captor. Unfortunately, many have come into the kingdom because they were attracted to God's promises and not captured by His word. The promise of success, heaven and prosperity attract many to God but they easily begin to follow other things in times of difficulty because they have not truly been captured. Attraction relies on personal strength but when a person is drawn it's by God's strength. Here I am Lord, send me. Jesus, your wish is my command.
Is this your heart? The person that has been attracted to the gospel, has many options. The person that has been drawn to the gospel, has no other options. Some people are attracted to church. That's why they go when they feel like it. Give when they feel like it. Serve when they feel it. They have no true passion or burden because it's not God pulling them. People that have been drawn are captured and they understand that church is not some where they go - they understand that the assembly of the saints is where God has called them to grow. "Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men." Isaiah 29:13 Pay careful attention to the last part of the verse, "their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men." Wow!!! God is saying there are those that only have reverence and fear for Him because of what people teach them not because they truly care and know God personally. They do the mechanical things - you know, praise with their lips but their hearts are far from God. Beloved, like the fish on the fishing line, to be drawn to Jesus is to be captured by Jesus. Know this, this is a spiritual walk. We are captured and drawn in our hearts to the Lord. Not our intellect and not our flesh. Anything less than our whole heart gives room for someone or something else to capture us. Those attracted to Jesus, will stay with Him until the next attraction, yes they'll leave Him the minute the next promise of pleasure is offered. (Note leaving Jesus doesn't mean leaving the church or ministry - it means leaving Him as it pertains to decisions of sin, unforgiveness, pride, etc.) But those drawn to Jesus have no where else to go-these easily repent, easily forgive and choose to be humble, etc. Remember the fish, the little fish that was caught died in the hand of the captor. It suffocated and died. Taken out of its natural environment (water) to the environment of the captor (land). It breathed it's last breath as it was held in the captor's hand. So it also is with us that walk with the Lord. Have you been captured? Or are you attracted to Jesus? You know--you like Jesus but...you won't give up all. You like Jesus but you don't love Jesus. You see, whatever you love you are willing to die for. This is the heart of the one captured: • God what ever you want. |
 |
|  |
