Dec. 22: Seeking, Searching, Finding

Solomon and Lady Wisdom (detail), Schnorr von Carolsfeld. Image from the The Bible in Pictures. Engraving. Public domain.

“Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” from the album Bach’s Greatest Hits. Performed by: New London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski with the Norman Luboff Choir. Lyrics: Martin Janus, Music: Johann Schop and Johann Sebastian Bach.

Week Four Introduction

Title: Seeking, Searching, Finding

Jesus declared the purpose of his advent in Luke 19:10: “The Son of Man has come [into the world] to seek and to save that which was lost.” To be human is to experience loss—a profound separation from the God we were created to be in fellowship with. Jesus explained in Luke 15 that his searching for us is like a poor woman who turns her abode upside down looking for a lost coin, the beautiful shepherd who leaves his flock to rescue the one sheep who is missing, the patient dad who runs to meet the prodigal when he finally returns to his father’s home. Thus the Messiah comes in love to find and reconcile us to God through faith in his saving work. We celebrate the glorious season of Christmas with fervent enthusiasm because Christ’s birth is the beginning of our salvation!

He not only seeks us, but it is our duty to search for Him. The Old Testament is full of exhortations to seek God––“But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will findHimif you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Deuteronomy 4:29, NKJV). In the passages we’ll examine this week, God provided signs for those who were seeking the Christ child. The shepherds were visited by angelic hosts who declared the good news of Christ’s birth. “And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger” (Luke 2:16). In their search, the wisemen were led by Christ’s star first to the palace of King Herod in Jerusalem, and then to Bethlehem “till it came and stood over where the young Child was.”

(Matthew 2:9). Faithful Simeon spent his life in the sanctuary, seeking the power and glory of God. The Holy Spirit revealed Christ to Simeon when he encountered the holy family in the temple (Luke 2:25–28). And in the calling of the disciples, Jesus asked, “What do you seek?” (John 1:38). A short while later, through the words and actions of Christ, Andrew readily declared to his brother Peter, “We have found the Messiah” (John 1:41). Later, Christ told his followers, “You did not [find] me, but I [found] you” (John 15:16).

What are you seeking at this juncture in your life? What are the desires of your heart? In the Song of Songs, the Shulamite maiden is continually searching. The Song seems to be about searching almost as much as it is about finding. Like Mary and Joseph anxiously looking for the child Christ, so too, the Shulamite cannot rest until she finds her beloved and is at home in his arms once more. In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ invites all to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). Jesus is the kingdom. Those who find him and enter into his glorious presence are wise, for they have discovered the “pearl of great price.” God promises that through earnest asking we will receive answers to our prayers; if we diligently seek, we will find a treasure house of abundant life and peace; and by knocking we will enter into the joy of the Lord. Immanuel, God is with us—God is in us. Maranatha! The Messiah has found us! Hallelujah! We have found the Messiah!

Poetry:

“The Change Has Come”
by Paul Laurence Dunbar

The change has come, and Helen sleeps—
Not sleeps; but wakes to greater deeps
Of wisdom, glory, truth, and light,
Than ever blessed her seeking sight,
In this low, long, lethargic night,
Worn out with strife
Which men call life.

The change has come, and who would say
"I would it were not come to-day?"
What were the respite till to-morrow?
Postponement of a certain sorrow,
From which each passing day would borrow!
Let grief be dumb,
The change has come.

HOLY WISDOM; SEEK AND YOU WILL FIND

Every human being is on a quest. We are on a pilgrimage. We are searching for something. Often, we do not know what it is we look for, but we look nonetheless. We recognize that inarticulate longing at the core of our being. It drives us on our pilgrimage. Reports of the search are all around. They fill our ears and eyes as we listen to music, watch people in the square, look in the mirror. The band, U2 cataloged the many gifts of life, but declared, “I still haven't found what I'm looking for.” Everyone sang along. Paul Simon reflected: “The open palm of desire wants everything. It wants everything, it wants everything.” The cry for everything is our relentless desire.

Our nearly hypnotic quest is not something to tame, to discipline, to repent. It is the seed of the image into which we were made. There is a taste of eternity in our hearts. It bubbles to the surface in this quest.

We seek. We must seek. We are seeking beings. But, what do we seek? What is it that people want?

Fundamentally, people are longing to be human. We are wanting a deep experience with a healthy and sane humanness. No one says out loud, “I want to be human.” Instead, we say, “I want a job I am passionate about.” “I want to accomplish something.” “I still haven’t found what I am looking for.” We make bucket lists.

The Proverbs remind us:

Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding; for her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, and her gain, more than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies, and all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.

To gain and practice wisdom is to inhabit a sound and sane human life. It is to live a humanly good life.

Jesus reminds us that if we seek, we will find. The key to seeking and finding a truly human life is to seek his Kingdom. Jesus is, after all, the complete human being. He is the one who lives as we should live, who loves as we should love. We are being made more like him through the Spirit. To become more like Jesus is to become more truly human. It is to reflect the glorious image of God more clearly.

We are longing to be human. Jesus invites us into his Kingdom. He leads us in this pilgrimage. He is the path and the destination. We seek. We will find. The great grace upon grace is that the very one we seek is the one who seeks us.

Prayer:
Jesus, direct my path as I proceed on this pilgrimage. Lead me to wisdom. Bring me into a more clear picture of who you are. Allow me to taste your image in my soul. Turn my seeking into s delight in you. To your Glory!
Amen.

Dr. Greg E. Ganssle
Professor of Philosophy
Talbot School of Theology
Biola University

For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, please visit our website via the link in our bio.