01/19/2019
Seeking God, and knowing that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to redeem us by His death, resurrection, and ascension; this is the most important quest of our lives. If we fail in this journey then all is lost in a few short years on earth. So what drives us to look for Him, why do some of us fail, and how can we succeed in finding Him?
“I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.”
Proverbs 8:17 ESV
In my early years I often wondered what drew me to my faith. I had a desire to know God, and to follow Jesus, but why? Was it because I heard my family speak of Him? Was it because I was taken to church each Sunday? Or, was it something deeper than that... a tiny seed of longing that was as natural to me as a newborn puppy’s search for its mother’s teat? Was it something as instinctive as that; a glimmer of knowledge that defies explanation by my own learning, and doing? Paul spoke of this calling in his letter to Timothy when he wrote these words regarding God’s calling and our finding Jesus...
“who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,”
2 Timothy 1:9 ESV
In man, who God created, He placed a longing to know Him, to know Jesus, and an anticipation of the returning Christ, this longing defies all understanding, and it provides a foundation and a nurturing care partner for another such mystery... faith.
“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”
2 Peter 1:3-4 ESV
It wasn’t until I heard a pastor make the statement that no matter where you went in the world, even to the furthest reaches, or the darkest and most remote jungles, every tribe or people has a God, and a desire to know him, that suddenly, I knew the origin of my need to know God, and my desire to follow His Son Jesus. It was born in me just as certainly as my need to breathe. The question then turned to one of knowledge... the quest for not only a god, but the one true God, His salvation, and our relationship with Him.
So it is by His calling that we seek Him, but then by our longing for knowledge of Him that we read His Word, and begin to know Him. In the uniting of these two, the call and quest for knowledge of Him, we begin to hear His Son Jesus knocking at our door, and we must decide... is this God the one true God, and will I open the door to this His Son?
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”
Revelation 3:20 ESV
Given these things, how do we fail? Well, some of us remain in the darkness, never having heard the Gospel of Jesus, nor having read the Word of God, others hear, but choose to follow their own wills and desires as they decide not to answer the knock at the door, and then there are those who remain confused... having received the mysterious seeds at birth, but not seeking as they should... becoming the puppy who never seems to find its mother’s teat, and eventually starves to death.
Those who read the Word, hear the gospel of Christ, who then find God, and have faith in Jesus, are fed, and gain in the wisdom and understanding of Faith. These have been called, and have sought successfully the knowledge of who God is, who His Son Jesus is, and why they must answer the knock at the door. These become the children of God.
“I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,”
Ephesians 1:16-18 ESV
So are you answering the call? Are you seeking knowledge? Are you answering the knock at the door?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the inbred understanding that you exist, and for the seed of faith that you planted within me which grows and leads me to an eternity with you. Thank you for loving me enough to send your Son Jesus to knock on my door with the gift of your redemption. Great is your mercy and grace father, and great has been your patience as you waited on my answer to your call and the door to be swung wide to your Son Jesus. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God, and great are you who has loved me from the foundation of the earth, and called me from my mother’s womb. Praised be your name for the Word you have spoken, and the gospel of your Sin Jesus Christ. Help us obey Holy Father as we spread the Word of you, and your grace though Jesus across the world.
Rich Forbes