Seeking Jesus

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”

-James 4:8

Founder of Desiring God and famous pastor, John Piper, wrote in his book “Desiring God: Meditation of A Christian Hedonist,” “But to enjoy him we must know him. Seeing is savoring. If he remains a blurry, vague fog, we may be intrigued for a season. But we will not be stunned with joy, as when the fog clears and you find yourself on the brink of some vast precipice.”

Over the last few years of my life, this has been my experience. In seeking God, I have found a real peace in my life but this peace is continued in my search of God. My search is like any other person’s search as we desire to know the one we come from, the one that created us, which has become a real passion of mine as I want to know the Jesus Christ of the Bible but also, the historical Jesus.

Many may say that this is a waste of my time but from my perspective, where I sit right now in my life, learning about who Jesus Christ was on Earth is important because scripture explains that God never changes. God is always present and all knowing which is hard for many to fathom and while I cannot prove all things to all people, there is much to know and learn about God himself if only we will seek Him out.

Lee Strobel was an investigative journalist that worked for the Chicago Tribune and was well known and respected in his field. Strobel was an admitted atheist and was proud of this because he was interested in what he could prove rather than relying on faith for evidence and when his wife became a Christian, Strobel made it his mission to disprove his wife’s new found faith. While it sounds petty, he was an investigative journalist.

Strobel began his journey certain of what he would find but his conclusion was surprising as he learned that the Jesus of the Bible was much more than a story made up. In his bestselling book “The Case for Christ,” he details his findings. Upon learning about his wife’s conversion to Christianity, he admits that his first thought was divorce but perhaps this was God’s plan for Lee to come to Christ but also, to help others in their pursuit of the cross.

This is an amazing story but it does detail just how great God’s plan truly is. When we seek the face of God and sincerely want to know Him, we are able to find the truth. Scripture tells us if we seek, we will find. More so, though, even when we have no real desire to find God, we sometimes find God which is Strobel’s testimony: “To be honest, I didn’t want to believe that Christianity could radically transform someone’s character and values. It was much easier to raise doubts and manufacture outrageous objections that to consider the possibility that God actually could trigger a revolutionary turn-around in such a depraved and degenerate life.”

We see this often in life especially when it comes to responsibility and accountability. It’s much easier to blame someone else for our faults and failures than to take accountability for them. Strobel also builds upon this notion positively, explaining “Only in a world where faith is difficult can faith exist.” This is something that I cannot agree with more because faith is hard to come by especially when all you know about God is a story passed down that seems too hard to believe. Yes, faith is important because there are things that we cannot explain but when we sincerely seek God, we will find him.

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

-Hebrews 11:6