Monday, August 10, 2009

Monday's Meditation: The Problem with Seeking

“Today, being a seeker is almost more acceptable than being a finder. If you've found something you believe in, you are perceived as close-minded.” ~ Dick Staub. This quote is a little bit like the sermon, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming:” once you’ve read the title, you’ve got the idea.
The Apostle Paul was pretty hard on continual seekers: “Always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.” (2 Timothy 3:7). When you read from the beginning of the chapter, the whole passage reveals that this attitude is a sign the "last days." And Biblically speaking, we’ve been in the last days since Jesus ascended to the Father.
Yet the Biblical witness is that God does not turn away the hungry. He rewards those who diligently seek him. God has mercy on the bruised; he won’t extinguish a smoldering flame. It’s equally true that God treats us with greater dignity and respect than most of us are aware of. One way he does so is by holding us accountable for that which we know.
Sometimes the Father is kind enough to hide things from us until he knows we are desperate enough to act. He’s a good steward. He doesn’t put pearls before swine because that would be a waste. He does not share information just to satisfy curiosity, because that might bring judgment on those who are unwilling to act—and God takes judgment far more seriously than do we.
“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.” (Proverbs 25: 2) Really? Is it true that God demonstrates his glory by hiding things from us? I’d like to suggest that one reason may be that the “kingly” are those bold enough to act upon what they find.
This Monday, I need to ask myself: “what has God shown me already?” And then ask the more important question: “Have I sold everything I have in order to lay hold of what he has already revealed?"

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