Seek and You Will Find
July 24, 2016
This is an incredible statement that God offers us. It is that simple: seek and you will find. Jesus goes on to say “knock and the door will be opened to you.” All of this seems too good to be true. It is that simple. But how come we often feel neglected by God? How often do we feel God has closed the door for us or on us?
The challenge is not in the eyes of God, but in our own. The responsibility falls upon us to seek wisely. The challenge for us is to knock on the door that will open us to all that is eternally life-giving. Too often we seek things that are harmful to us or those around us. Too often we long to open doors that can never lead us to the truth or a deepening of faith. To find those doors and to seek those things takes a lot of hard work.
It is true, what we seek we will find. When I go golfing, I usually try to write down one good thing that happened on each hole of the golf course. Whether it was a drive in the fairway, or a good bunker shot coming out of the sand trap or a long putt; something good happened if I look at it. After 18 holes I have 18 positive thoughts to build on. Sometimes I see golfers frustrated with their game, sometimes pounding the club into the ground. They are finding frustration where they could be finding something positive. It may not be easy to find something positive, but it is there when we look. I try to stay positive, because it is 4 hours, a lot of valuable time to waste by being unhappy while playing the game. I seek and I find because I seek the positive. It is a choice. The same is true with the door. I know what it takes to be healthy, but the door of the freezer leading to ice cream, especially Klondike Bars, can call to me pretty loudly. Opening that door does nothing good for me, yet it is a door I seek to open from time to time. Not all doors are good and healthy.
The doors that we are invited to open might not open rapidly and they may be ones that invite us into pain and suffering. Those doors sometimes purify our vision and lead us to greater awareness of God’s goodness. God is good at helping us find what we are seeking and opening for us the door we choose. It is up to us to choose wisely. Jesus made the choice in the Garden of Gethsemane to choose the will of the Father. He knew He would have to die in order to open up the door to heaven for all souls. In the garden He had the choice to run away or to open the door in order to seek the will of the heavenly Father.
The greatest doors will open when we surrender, the greatest joy we will find is when we seek the will of God. When we do, all will be revealed and joy will know no bounds.
Rev. John J. Ouper