“Canst thou by searching find out God? “
Job 11:7a
Easter, like all other major holidays can be summed up in one word. Christmas is giving. Independence Day is American. Thanksgiving is feasting. Easter, summed up in one word, is searching.
Ancients would search for romance in past times; motivated by lust. Children today search for colorful plastic eggs stuffed with candy and other surprises. Religions see today as their ‘black Friday’ and go ‘all out’ to find a new visitor. Some have already planned to attend a church sometime over the weekend out of tradition. Will they find what they are searching for?
“And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?” Luke 24:5
Men have always been searching, and they will always start in the wrong places. It’s only by the grace of God we ‘find’ any light or understanding at all.
Dr. Peter S. Ruckman had this thought in his commentary on Ecclesiastes:
“If (Ecclesiastes 1:9, “There is no new thing under the sun”) is investigated, it will be found that mankind’s (any man or woman, anywhere, in any period of history) desires, hopes, worries, aspirations, sorrows, joys, goals, sin, temptations, disappointments, attempts to justify self, attempt to earn praise and approval, fears, and loves are perfectly uniform for 6,000 years. Only the scenery, income level, environment, culture, and rare exceptions cause any variation at all, and very little at that.”
Mankind is always searching, yet the answer hasn’t moved in 2,000 years.
Will you find what you are searching for this year? Or will you be found doing what you always do when it comes to religion?
"All my life-long I had panted For a drink from some cool spring That I hoped would quench the burning Of the thirst I felt within. Feeding on the husks around me Till my strength was almost gone, Longed my soul for something better, Only still to hunger on... Poor I was, and sought for riches, Something that would satisfy; But the dust I gathered 'round me Only mocked my soul's sad cry. Hallelujah! I have found Him-- Whom my soul so long has craved! Jesus satisfies my longings; Through His blood I now am saved. Well of water, ever springing, Bread of Life, so rich and free; Untold wealth that never faileth, My Redeemer is to me!" -Satisfied, by Clara T. Williams
I’ve found the solution for all my serious, spiritual needs. I followed these flags to find a church where I could find an Answer. If you’re searching, won’t you consider them too? Follow these three flags to Real Treasure:
1. Frequent Gathering
A Christian (that is, a born-again, saved by grace, child of God) worships the once-dead and forever-living Lord Jesus Christ. He is wonderful, and time learning of Him is worth every second spent. I often question the enthusiasm of the church that has only one service for worship. Why, it would be easy to plan over church, when it takes up only 30 minutes of your week!
I propose that what you’re looking for will be found in a place that has a lot of services. Not only that, but what you need will be in the church that starts early, and lets out a little later than all the rest. Your search begins with the church service you must plan for, not plan around.
2. Bible Study
In your search, beware the religion that demands devotion without explaining why. If you discover the attitude toward Bible teaching that says, “Well, you can’t understand everything, so why learn anything,” then you will have a weak foundation, a weak experience, and a weak faith to go along with your wandering search. Doctrine (what you believe and why you believe) matters.
Look for a Sunday School. No, it’s not just for kids! Adult Bible classes will provide you with a basis for belief- on your level! They’re earlier than the regular service so your mind is fresh and uncluttered, prime for learning the most important and vital lessons. A King James Bible-believing teaching program is a sign that you are on the right track.
3. A Personal Solution
A Hero..?
Read the last chapter of any book, whether it is a thesis or a novel, and you meet the hero. Sometimes the solution to the story’s problem is a change of thinking, or a way of life. Sometimes it is discovering hidden truth, or putting together a puzzle. Modern narrative has a bad habit of creating an anti-climax, where the answer to the question is another enigmatic question, and there is no closure, no resolution.
…In the House?
The same can be said of a house of worship. In the final 5 minutes of the services you will be introduced to the God of that place. You will either find a Saviour, or you will find just another sad substitute.
No matter what was said or sung throughout the ordeal, regardless of what the brochures advertise, in spite of the pitch given to cause you to visit- when the final question is asked: What will the answer be?
WHO, not WHAT
If the solution for your problems is a thing and not a person, then you have no real hope. Try harder, ‘really’ believe, do better, be more sincere, dig deeper, get serious, etc, are all things desperate men try who have no hope. If you COULD get yourself out of the mess you’re in, wouldn’t you have done it already?
Men will try sexual experiences, mess around with drugs and abuse other substances, or hide themselves in a virtual world to escape their hopelessness. But those THINGS will leave you alone, unsatisfied, and suicidal, because there is no exit strategy! You CAN’T drink that forever; you CAN’T do that forever; you CAN NOT survive like that forever!
“The workmen made IT; therefore IT is not God;” Hosea 8:6
A Proposal
A proposal to resolve your struggles with some other ‘thing’ is a ludicrous one. Things (programs, lifestyles, opinions, etc.) cause the difficulty in your life. One difficulty plus another difficulty equals: you guessed it, a heart and mind cluttered with stuff that somebody said would help you, and now you are even more lost “among the stuff.” (1 Samuel 10:22)
A Person
Salvation is in a PERSON, not things. Your search ends at Lord Jesus Christ.
He IS the answer to life’s questions. He IS the healing for life’s hurt. He IS the satisfaction for the soul’s starvation. He IS the life for your death. He IS light, He IS joy, He IS peace. The Saviour IS the solution.
“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
1 Corinthians 15:3-4
And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
After that, he was seen…”
“Canst thou by searching find out God?” If you are looking in the right place, yes. Yes, you can.
I hope you have a good Easter. I pray you will “seek the Lord,” for He has been searching for you.
As a child, my brothers and I would look frantically for the plastic eggs hidden all over our farm. Every year, there would be a few eggs that we wouldn’t be able to find. One year, I remember that months after Easter, while doing some yard work, I discovered a well-hidden Easter egg. It was concealed so well, because it had the most valuable prize: money! If I had known how good the treasure was, I would have looked so much harder.
Friend, have you come to the end of your search? Have you caught yourself thinking, “There’s nothing more to life, nothing more to church, nothing left to look forward to?” Let me tell you, that when I found Jesus, I found more than I ever asked for, more than I ever dreamed, more than I ever needed, and best of all, I found Jesus is more than ENOUGH.
Formerly titled, “What Were You Looking For On Easter?” Originally published April 11, 2015
- Live Coal: The View From Midlife
Longfellow’s view from midlife mirrors my own. - Fireside: Even The Unclean
You’re not allowed into the Ark unless you’ve got an invitation. I’ll show you where I got in. - The Brief Book of Jude
Addressing another common complaint that keeps us from writing about our faith.
Spiritual Reload 