Posts: Seeking God

Seeking God

Millennials are teased or perhaps ridiculed for seeking immediate gratification through jobs they deem meaningful or significant. This attitude illustrates the difference between what the New Testament calls the “natural man,” the best this world can produce, and the faithful, those who find true significance and meaning in mutual trust and selfless concern through Jesus: the difference between just breathing and really living. The gospel, properly presented, should appeal to millennials because it offers real and immediate significance.

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things [food, drink, and clothing] shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33) Jesus’ admonition strikes most people as outrageous. However, this seeking is well rounded, not so focused on theory that the realities of the world are ignored. Further, the context addresses needs, not wants. And finally, if one should die of hunger, thirst, or exposure in the search, the result is an early out, such as is celebrated by schoolchildren everywhere. Take Jesus at His word; it works.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7) This set of promises, in the Sermon on the Mount, is part of a larger theme of being consistent between belief and action. Rather than an opportunity to manipulate God, asking with absolute trust results in actions by God that will satisfy the need (not the want). Seeking a life in harmony with the desires of God results in connecting with God’s family. Taking action (knocking) in the face of insurmountable obstacles results in overcoming oneself.

“For everyone to whom much has been given, much will be sought.” (Luke 12:48) Most translations end the sentence with “much will be required.” More accurately, it should be “much will be sought.” The statement by Jesus is not a call to future responsibility but a promise that all you have will be sought by God. From the context of the parable, the more the faithful understand, the more occasions to serve in the Kingdom will be placed before them. Jesus’ admonition was to understand that opportunities are a certainty and that failure has penalties.

“Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” (Luke 17:33) If the focus of physical life is comfort, health, and longevity, we will achieve some small portion, but eventually lose. In the drive to live long and prosper, we never really live. In this context, Jesus described terrible hardships, yet inserted this line in the middle. Really living has little to do with the political or economic climate, and everything to do with being the selfless and trusting person who is suited to the eternal family.

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10) The Old Testament records the faith of some people who did not lose track of God. Yet, Jesus came anyway, not only to buy out the debts of everyone, but also to seek the aimless and the self-deceived by being real, illustrating just what the character of God is. Since that time, very few people seek God, but Jesus continues, through the gospel, to seek us, perhaps to motivate or to stimulate or to clarify the minds and hearts of many.

“You will seek Me and not find. Where I am you cannot come.” (John 7:34) Most of the leadership of the Jews were outraged by Jesus, partly by His popularity, partly because He pointed out the flaws in their various teachings. They could not see past their outrage and be healed by the simplicity and obvious truthfulness of His messages. Jesus told them that their assumptions and self-centeredness would prevent understanding and preclude adoption into God’s family. This sad path continues to be well populated.

Acts 15:17 (Amos 9:11 – 12) “So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord.” (Acts 15:17) James, the brother of Jesus, summed up the accounts of Peter and Paul, insisting to a large gathering of Jewish Christians that non-Jews also should be targets of the gospel. He cited the prophet Amos, nearly eight centuries earlier, who had predicted this about the Messiah. Israel had received numerous promptings from God about faith; non-Jews had not. Without Jesus first seeking them, the probability of ever finding God was very low. So, we go to all.

“He made out of one, every ethnicity to dwell upon all the face of the earth, having determined the appointed times and boundaries of their habitations, to seek God, if perhaps indeed they might grope for Him, and might find Him. Indeed, He is not far from each of us.” (Acts 17:26 – 27) God has not left the world to go its own way, perchance to encounter God. Rather, He programmed ethnicity with its inherent conflicts and has manipulated the rise, fall, and boundaries of nations for the purpose of steering us to Him. Take the hint.

“To those who, by steadfastness in good work, are seeking glory, honor, and immortality, eternal life.” (Romans 2:7) The faithful seek to be known for their godly character traits (glory), their integrity, and their focus on mutual trust and selfless concern which leads to really living on this earth and beyond. Rather than seeking quality of life through theory, the faithful play out life through doing good in a world that sorely lacks the same.

“For they [unbelieving Israel], being ignorant of God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.” (Romans 10:3) Paul noted that the majority of his countrymen had a zeal for God, just not in accordance with knowledge. Skipping over the pursuit of understanding the nature of God, they failed to recognize the goal of being like Him. So, lacking God’s stated objective, they made up their own so as to feel good about themselves. Such is the danger of finding righteousness through rationalization.

“What then? Israel has not obtained what it is seeking, but the chosen have. But the rest were hardened.” (Romans 11:7) As a generalization, Israel sought to please God through adhering to certain rituals and societal rules, which did not get them where they wanted to be. Some, who saw beyond the organizational benchmarks and recognized the character of God, were chosen to populate the family of God. Being focused on personal fulfillment through rules blinded the majority to the simplicity of mutual trust and selfless concern.

“Seeing that Jews ask for a sign and Greeks seek wisdom, but on the other hand, we preach Christ having been crucified, to the Jews indeed a stumbling block, to the Greeks foolishness.” (1 Corinthians 1:22 – 23) People seek what they find important. Problems arise when the path fails to lead to the objective. Some demand evidence of a certain type, when the evidence offered is something else. Some demand philosophical jargon, when simple facts will suffice. Finding God requires that we allow God to offer the proof without our pre-conditions.

“It is sought in stewards that one be found faithful.” (1 Corinthians 4:2) This truism from Paul explained his attitude toward his own task and those of others. Each is a servant of Christ. Rather than focusing on requirements, it is a promise that tasks will be assigned to prove the faithfulness of each. In the context, Paul reminded the Corinthian Christians that the Lord assigned the tasks and judges the faithfulness, no one else. Our assessments of our own performance or of others are irrelevant. Instead, do your task and let others do theirs.

“All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own but that of the other.” (1 Corinthians 10:23 – 24) Selflessness, the difference between liberty and license, cannot be legislated. Both governments and churches have tried and failed. On the contrary, those who trust God receive the indwelling Spirit who initiates a transformation into the character of Jesus, including selfless concern. Behavior management works through faith, not law.

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above where Christ is, sitting in the right hand of God.” (Colossians 3:1) We learn through our physical senses, but we can learn about more than just that which is physical. A great deal of physical scientific measurements yield insights into the invisible. In the same way, the faithful should seek to experiment with and measure their own transformations into the character of Jesus and thereby gain insights into the eternal.

“Now without faith it is impossible to please, for it is necessary for the one drawing near to God to believe that He exists, and He becomes a rewarder of those who seek Him out.” (Hebrews 11:6) Faith is more than understanding that God is, but includes, among several other things, initiative on the part of the believer. Certainly, God took the first step by coming to earth as Jesus, and the second step by spreading that good news across the world in one generation. But, people are still required to search and to choose, which may include considerable effort.

“For you know that even afterward, wishing to inherit the blessing, he [Esau] was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, although with tears he sought it out.” (Hebrews 12:17) We can be flippant about the things of God too long and be unable to reclaim them. As long as we are still breathing, God’s solicitation does not expire, but our ability to respond appropriately and sincerely can. The longer we excuse ourselves, the less able we become to be realistic about ourselves. The truth stops making sense, and all hope is lost.

“Upon this salvation the prophets sought out and explored out, upon the grace into you having prophesied.” (1 Peter 1:10) The prophets of old wrote out the promises of God concerning things beyond their experience. But they understood that, after the Messiah, the faithful would have available the power to take on God’s gracious nature. Those prophets wanted to know more, perhaps get a little taste for themselves. But they, like the angels, had to be content with serving those who were to come later. Make good use of our advantage.