Treasure Seeker 26/12/09
There is a well know saying, “Seek and you will find.” It's like, "work and you will get the reward the work you do has to give. "
Look at how hard we work to get a comfortable life. At least five days a week many of us toil in jobs we find tiresome, but we think that the effort is worth it. The more we make of this kind of treasure, the more our expenditure seems to go up to devour it. It doesn't last and we can lose it all in a day.
Imagine what we might find if we put the same amount of effort into finding things that don't disappear as quickly as the money we earn ... things like understanding, wisdom, friendship or finding God?
I remember the first time someone told me I could know God. I was surprised. I didn't know that a person could “know” God. I was curious to find out how one went about getting to “know” Him. My journey started with a conversation. It began like this… “If you are out there God ...” That was forty four years ago and now I treasure our relationship. I am deeply satisfied in it.
Jesus said that anyone who comes to Him will be satisfied. Like bread that takes away the hunger pangs and fills up the stomach, Jesus has the power to remove any emptiness we may experience. Fullness is one of the gifts he has to give.His disciples wrote down what He said: "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."
Sometimes God is stumbled upon by people who are not looking for Him, but a satisfying relationship requires time and effort.
Have you ever wondered why God doesn't just openly reveal Himself to everyone or open His treasure chest so everyone can see it and help themselves to everything they need ... things like peace, joy, and wellbeing? Have you ever wondered why God doesn't just prevent all troubles, wars and disasters?
Perhaps it's because we cannot cope with seeing Him as He is. He is so gifted, so Holy, so powerful, so beautiful, so deep ... His love for us is an ache that would consume us, bowl us over if we saw or felt the fullness of it. His passion for us would burn us like fire if we saw the fullness of it. Jesus stands in the gap as a man so we can experience God in a way we cope with.
Would we consider it treasure if everything was easy to come by? Would we see its value if we always had things the way we wanted them? Would we all have to be the same to always get our own way?
Do you like having the power to choose? What would it be like if choice
was not within our power? We wouldn't need such a big brain if we didn't
have to deal with the freedom that choice gives. We would be more like
a tree that grows where it is planted and takes what it is given, or
a robot programmed to respond in a particular way.
“Robot do you love me?”
“Yes master, you programmed me to say so”
We are "like" God because he wants friends who can respond like He does, with significant freedom to make wise and unwise choices, because without freedom, love is rape or merely the programmed response of a toy. Love is a risk and one God took in order to share His power with and in us.
Like treasure that has been hidden, God can be found. The principle is “Seek and you will find”. What do you really want to find in your life time? What God wants is for us to know Him. There is joy in seeking and being sought.
There is an ancient Proverb recorded in a book of proverbs:
...."if you call out for insight, and cry aloud for understanding,
if you seek it like silver, and search for it like hidden treasure,
then you will understand how to reverence the Lord, you will attain
knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth comes
knowledge and understanding. He stores up effective counsel for the
upright..."
Understanding can be had if it is sought for like one would seek for silver or gold. Wisdom can be yours too if you value it like the hidden treasure it is...... and knowing God and His counsel can be a reality for you too.
Moses' sister Miriam said "In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed" (Exodus 15). She sang out loud to God in front of all the people: "Who is like You majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders."
You will find the truth of the matter if you search for it, and if you seek God you will discover like Miriam, that He is awesome. You will see like she did, the wonders that He does. He is someone who loves you like you have never been loved before. He will lead you too and you will discover that He makes the days of your life so much more profitable.
God is treasure worth seeking.
"And you shall seek me, and find me when you search for me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)
Inspirational Christian Testimonies by Jennifer Phillips