For the Searching Ones
Good morning Immanuel! We're all searching for meaning, and Jesus is with us and for us in our searching.
“And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.” (Luke 19:3-4)
We're all searching for meaning in our lives because without meaning, we suffer. And by searching, I don't only mean people who don't follow Jesus. Even followers of Jesus are still searching. How do we explain, for instance, the Psalms, where David says things like, "will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable?...Has God forgotten to be gracious?" (Psalm 77). Or how about the Psalm that says, "How long, oh Lord, will you forget me forever?" (Psalm 13).
You see, there are two kinds of searching. They're searching for salvation, and they're searching in salvation. So there are only two kinds of people— those of us who need to make a discovery of Jesus and those of us who need to make a re-discovery of Jesus, including myself. And God is with us and for us in our searching. In Christ, He even pursues us in our searching. God be praised!
Our Father in heaven, we praise you for your wonderful persistence. We thank you that you save the lost. Father, I pray for everyone wandering without a heading, without inspiration, deflated, or not as inspired as they once were. Would you now re-energize them by the sheer force of your love? In the holy name of Christ we pray. Amen.
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Thank you for this Pastor Tims. I recently felt guilty for losing some of that vigor for searching for Christ that I had as my son was born a month and a half ago. I know now that it’s okay. I just need to start up the search again.
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