Fugitives run in fear of judgment; sinners run in blindness. Yet the One who pursues them does not come to condemnābut to redeem.Ā
02/20/25
By Chuck Kleffman
Rain pounded the dark streets of Los Angeles. Thenāsuddenlyāa booming voice shattered the tense night air.
"This is the FBI! We have you surrounded. There's nowhere to run. Exit now with your hands raised. Surrender peacefully, or we will come in after you. This is your final warning!
The air crackled with urgency as red and blue lights pulsed against the brick walls.
Armed agents stood ready, eyes locked on their target. They don't quit. They don't walk away. They chase. They hunt. They find. No matter how far criminals run or how well they hideāthe FBI will track them down.
Why? Because justice demands it.
This pursuit is relentless. It is unwavering. But there is a greater pursuitāone that doesn't seek punishment, but salvation.
God pursues, tooānot to condemn, but to save; not to punish, but to redeem.
Just as the FBI will chase a fugitive across borders, break through barriers, and never stop until justice is served, God pursues the lost with an even greater intensity. He follows them into the darkest corners of sin, through the barricades of rebellion, and across the distance of a hardened heart.
He doesn't stop. He won't stop. Because love demands it.
The FBI's relentless pursuit of criminals mirrors, in a small way, God's pursuit of sinners. Just as agents are unwavering in their commitment to seek out and bring lawbreakers to justice, God is relentless in His mission to bring the lost to redemption. While the FBI pursues criminals to uphold justice, God pursues sinners to offer grace.
The BHA's pursuit isn't limited to a listāit's deeply personal. Behind every name on Heaven's Most Wanted list is a storyāa life pursued, a soul fought for. Some have surrendered and wear the mark of the redeemed. Others are still running. And then, there's Latrelle Campbell.Ā
Latrelle Campbell has always been a preacherāat least that's what they called him. "Preacher" wasn't a name he earned in the pulpit, but on the streets of Los Angeles, where words about God spilled from his lips even as he rejected Him. His mother took him to a Pentecostal church when she could, but faith was never a steady thing in their home. When his father was murdered by a gang at sunrise on a sidewalk stained with blood and regret, Latrelle turned his back on the God he used to talk about. He ranānot just from the streets, but from the One who had been calling him since childhood.
For ten years, he's been a fugitive of grace, running from a justice that does not condemn but saves. He's drifted from job to job, city to city, searching for something that no amount of distance can outrun. The Bureau of Heavenly Affairs (BHA), Heaven's relentless task force, never closes a case. Heaven's relentless pursuit has tracked him through the alleys of doubt and the avenues of rebellion, waiting for the moment he'll surrenderānot to handcuffs, but to mercy.
The question remains: Will he keep running, or will he finally kneelānot in defeat, but in redemption?
The Bible tells us in 2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." God's pursuit is driven by love and a desire for salvation. His justice is perfect, yet His mercy is boundless.
Inside the building, the suspect hears the FBI's ultimatum. His voice, weary and resigned, calls out from the darkness.
"Alright! I hear you! I'm done running. I've got nowhere left to go. I'm coming outāno weapons, no fight. Just don't shoot. I surrender!"
He steps out slowly, hands raised, the weight of his crimes pressing heavy upon him. Justice is unavoidable, but there is also relief in finally stopping the chase.
Likewise, God's call reaches the weary sinner...
"My child, how much longer will you run? You've tried to hide, but I see you. You've silenced My voice, but I am still calling. I have loved you with an everlasting love, and I will not let you go."
"The weight you carry is too heavy for you. Your sin has chained you, but I can set you free. The world has left you empty, but I can make you whole. The enemy has lied to you, but I am the Truth."
"Come to Me. I have already paid the price for you. I have seen your darkest moments, yet I long to redeem you. I am not here to condemn you but to save you. My arms are wide open, My mercy is greater than your sin, and My love is deeper than your shame."
"The door is open now, but it won't stay open forever. Come before it's too late. Surrender, and I will give you life. Call upon Me, and I will answer. I will forgive you, restore you, and make you Mine forever."
Just as the fugitive finally surrenders to the FBI, so too does the sinnerāwhen at last, he hears and answers God's call.
His heart pounding, his soul trembling under the weight of conviction, he finally bows his head in surrender.
"Lord, I hear You! I'm done running. I can't hide anymore. I've got nowhere left to turn but to You. I lay it all downāmy sin, my pride, my rebellion. Please don't turn me away. I surrender! Forgive me, save me, make me Yours!"
At that moment, he feels the burden lifted, replaced with peace as he is no longer pursued but embraced by the relentless love of God.
One surrenders to justice; the other to mercy. Yet both are pursued with unwavering determinationāone by law, the other by love.
Jesus painted this picture in Luke 15āthe lost sheep, the lost coin, the prodigal son. Each was lost. Each was pursued. Each was found.
Remember Latrelle's story? His is just one of many. The pursuit never stops. The reward is waiting. The question isāwhen will the lost finally surrender?
For ten years, Latrelle Campbell carried the weight of his father's murder like an unshakable chain. He buried his pain in anger, in questions without answers, in a hollow existence that never quite filled the void. But heaven's pursuit never wavered. One night, in a moment he never saw coming, the weight broke him. Maybe it was the face of a child on the street that reminded him of himselfālost, hurting, searching. Maybe it was an old church hymn playing from a distant radio. Or maybe, just maybe, it was the quiet whisper of God, the same voice he had been running from for a decade.
Tears burned his skin as he dropped to his knees on the cold concrete of a city that had stolen so much from him. But this time, he wasn't collapsing in despairāhe was surrendering to grace. The God he once blamed for his father's death now became the only One who could heal his brokenness. And in that moment, Latrelle knewāhis father was home, in heaven, at peace. And now, it was time for him to come home too.
That night changed everything. In the years that followed, Latrelle stepped into his true callingānot just as "Preacher," but as a pastor. The same streets that once stole his father now became his mission field. And the ultimate test of his faith came when he stood face to face with the men who had shattered his world. They expected hate. Instead, they found grace. With a heart transformed by the very love he once rejected, Latrelle forgave them. And as the lost son finally came home, so did the ones who took his father's life. Because while God had never stopped pursuing Latrelle, He had never stopped pursuing them either.
Jesus said in Luke 15:7, "I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."
So what about you? Is God relentlessly pursuing you? If you're breathing, He is.
Psalm 23:6 reminds us: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
Or, as The Message translation puts it: "Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life. I'm back home in the house of God for the rest of my life."
God's love never stops chasing, never stops calling. The chase is overābut the choice is yours. How much longer will you run? Why wait another moment? Surrender now to the One who has never stopped loving you. If you're ready to take that step, visit my page, How to Know God.