Being A Seeker

The older I get, the more I realize how everything that is worthwhile in life must be attained through patience, sacrifice, pain and endurance. What comes easily proves itself to be more ephemeral, it does not stand the test of time and only provides a quick enjoyment. I suppose this is the way God wanted His world to function seeing that everything works in phases or seasons or it could just be the effect of the curse. Or maybe it is a combination of both. Whichever it is, I think it is important for us believers and followers of Christ to not be unaware of this principle. We must know that living a life worthy of the Lord will be difficult, painful and will require endurance. Jesus has told us this many times, we have been forewarned. It will be costly to follow him but it is also so worth it because we have life everlasting in him. In this post, my goal is to look at the biblical examples that support the claim that everything that has value requires effort, it requires a seeker.

The first example I would like to look at is in the parables. Jesus spoke often times in parables which is a form of allegory in which the meaning is not easily understood. It uses stories to convey deep truths. As it was with Jesus, the meaning of the parables was often not understood right away by all, only those who came after to ask questions were able to receive an answer. Those that did not take the time to ask questions, or find out what exactly the parable meant did not receive its meaning (see Matthew 13:36). This was also a way for Jesus to sift who belonged to him and who didn’t; who followed him and who didn’t. In Matthew 6:33 Jesus says “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”. In the few verses prior to this, Jesus is talking to his audience about not worrying about anything in this world, whether it is food, drink, clothes, etc. because God, our heavenly Father provides. Instead of worrying, Jesus encourages his audience to seek first the kingdom of God. The act of seeking requires effort and a substantial one. Indeed, seeking will involve time, it will involve effort, it will require sacrifice and much more. The fact that the kingdom of God must be sought means it is not out there in the open, if it were, Jesus would not tell us to seek it. Moreover, it means this kingdom will be missed by many for lack of searching or seeking. I am reminded of another parable of Jesus which clearly explains the process one must go through to seek and find something. In that parable we see a woman who lost a coin, so to find it she lights a lamp, sweeps the house and searches carefully until she finds it (Luke 15:8-10). The point I am making here is this: seeking will require your all; seeking does not stop until the object sought is found. So, as followers of Christ, we cannot stop to seek the Lord and his righteousness until we get to heaven.

The second example I would like to look at is found in the book of Proverbs. The first chapter of the book of Proverbs lays out the reason for the book which is “to attain wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight” (Proverbs 1:2). From the first few verses of this chapter, Solomon makes the point that you need wisdom and discipline in this life, as well as understanding to get the sayings and riddles of the wise. What is inferred from these words is that the true meaning of the sayings of the wise is hidden, it is not understood right away upon hearing them. Indeed, it is through the revelation found in the proverbs that one can gain such understanding. Again, this process is not a fast-tracked one, it takes time and perseverance. Gaining wisdom is not something that can just be picked up by the roadside, it is not a quick exercise, no, it takes fearing the Lord. This is the first proverb Solomon gives us and in this proverb, we can see that there are many layers to “fearing the Lord”. A real seeker will not just take that proverb and think they have understood its meaning right away. A real seeker will meditate on that, search for similarities in the bible, ask the Lord, he or she will seek to know what others have said about that proverb, etc. you get the point, as a seeker, I will do all that I can to get that understanding. This is the attitude the Lord wants us to have when it comes to loving Him. He bought us with a high price, He gave His very self to us, He gave us His best, therefore He expects our best and our all. That is why, He wants us to seek Him with all that we are because then we really show that we are true seekers and we show that we love Him. We cherish anything that has value or is important to us and are ready to give everything we have to get or keep that thing. For example, athletes will go through the hardest of trainings because the trophy or the prize is important to them. This shows they value the prize, therefore they do all that is in their power to get that trophy and as such, they do not stop until they have it. It is no surprise that the writer of the book of Hebrews used the sport imagery to encourage us to run the race marked out for us in such a way as to win the prize (Hebrews 12:1-3). He wanted us to see that the world already does that for perishable items – trophies that will not last. Since that is the case, how much more then should we do the same knowing that our own trophy lasts forever?

I believe doing this starts with being a true seeker, one that will put his or her all in the seeking process and one that will not stop halfway. Fortunately, we are not alone in this search, we have been given a companion to guide us through the process and strengthen our faith when things become tough. This companion is the Holy Spirit. God in His goodness did not abandon us to ourselves on this search and graciously provided His Spirit to help us. I don’t know what type of seeker you are, I don’t even know if you are a seeker but what I know is that you need to seek the Lord. This seeking will demand your very life, it will be difficult, it will be testing but it is oh so worth it in the end. What is more, in the seeking process, you get glimpses of what the end result will be like, you get to be encouraged, and you get to grow and learn more about yourself and about the Lord. It does not get any better than that. Listen, the most important being in the whole wide world wants to be found by you and has made a way, will you then seek Him?