Denise—my mural-painting, comedian-friend with a Tennessee drawl—knows how to know people.

She brushes against edges, peers over walls, and says with her down-home twang and fearless giggle, “I like you! Tell me more about the ‘you’ inside you.” And no matter the bark or the bite, she presses in with a joke here, a question there.

That’s how she pried open The Bulldog—the 50ish, straight-lipped, spreadsheet-writing church secretary. Denise questioned her way past the Bulldog’s grunts and one-word-answers until she growled—“I like cats. Not just any old cat though, black-n-white ones!” So Denise sketched a tuxedo cat just for her, and The Bulldog said, “Denise, you remind me of that yappy dog in an old cartoon who was determined to be friends with a big, old sheep dog!”

I want to be more like Denise—brushing against sharp edges, peering over walls.

Why?

Because Jesus pursues us in our barking, biting, stubbornness.

He pursues us to know and be known by us, so we can “taste and see that the Lord is Good!”

When we pursue the edgy souls in our lives, we give them a taste of grace, of knowing and being known by a good God who doesn’t leave us alone in our self-reliance.

Because God first moved toward us—we move toward others.

Because we’ve tasted the goodness of God in the land of the living we move toward our frowning, stomping, sons and our sassy daughters, our grumpy neighbors and our friends.

After we’ve tasted the goodness of the God who pursues, we pursue others.

So on days when we feel like hurling verbal bombs over walls and running for cover, we remember that God pursued us even as we wounded Him.

Then praying for grace, we move toward.

Becca B.

Reflection Questions

Who are the “edgy” souls in your life on any given day? A son? Daughter? Co-worker? How can you move toward them in love?

Do you tend to withdraw or go on the offensive when you meet “edgy” souls? What scriptures can you meditate on to remind you of your own “edginess/neediness” before God so that you can then move toward others?