A good book always needs a second read. A good “anything” always deserves to be recognized again. That’s why they call it a “double take” when you see a good-looking fella walking down the road. That’s why little kids can watch UP & Toy Story 3 eight times in a row. When I come across a good book or movie, I tend to read and watch them over and over again, even though I know the ending and the characters and can recite almost half the scenes verbatim; I still go back for more. I realized why when I was asking myself why I did this… It’s because they don’t get boring… I pick up SOMETHING new in the story each time. I realized something else too; that’s why we can read and hear the same stories in the bible over and over again. IT NEVER GETS BORING. The bible is the single most exciting slice of life that God has ever given us. If you think reading the bible is boring, you’re reading it wrong. Sure Leviticus and the multitudes of genealogies get redundant, tedious even; but they are not boring. Those names were HAND-PICKED by God to be in this work of art that’s survived hundreds and hundreds of years… I don’t know about you, but I’d sure like to see my name printed on those pages. (What’s almost too good to be true is that there is a book that my name and if you call on Jesus as your Savior, your name will be, too! And I am beyond excited to hear God call my name.) When I first tackled Leviticus, I skipped pretty much all of it, but then someone told me in layman’s terms what some of the specific offerings and sacrifices the Israelites had to undergo and I started reading again. This time I imagined myself (as best a 21st century American-born-kid could) having to participate in those same acts of worship. Not only would I have had to work during the “day” (which back then there were only 12 hour shifts) but perform burnt offerings, grain offerings, wave offerings, peace offerings (see: Leviticus 1:everywhere)… Leviticus turned into a real nail-biter when I pictured myself having to: first raise herds, examine EVERY SINGLE one from head to tail, then karate chop a bull with a machete and throw some of it here, a little bit there, outside the camp, in front of the alter, let the blood and guts gush all over. Nice. But my point is this--the bible is intoxicating! (If you don’t have a bible, get one, and don’t stop reading it, ever.)
Beyond that point, even though that’s pretty succinct, I’ll head back to the first sentence. (My writing reflects my thought processes that always head down side-roads, I even run in zig-zag’s.) I’ve started reading the book, “Captivating” by John & Stasi Eldredge for the second time and got stuck on page 29 in the middle of an except from ANOTHER book that John wrote, “Wild at Heart” –(by the way, get ‘em, read ‘em, then read ‘em again) He put a verse from Jeremiah 29 in this passage and the Holy Spirit asphyxiated me.
“You will find me,” says the Lord, “when you seek me with all your heart.” vs. 13, underline mine.
You see, we all know to “seek God”. Matthew 6:33 and Luke 12:31 tell us to, “seek first His kingdom…” Psalms 105:4 says to, “seek the Lord, and His strength…” The bible contains TONS of verses about seeking God, but only 4 mention GOD BEING FOUND as the result of our seeking. We are to always look for God, yes… but when He tells us in Jeremiah 29:13, Deuteronomy 4:29, and Proverbs 8:17 to seek (to hunt for, to pursue, an attempt/desire to find/obtain/achieve) with our hearts, and we will find Him. I think we’ll find that when we seek the Creator from our hearts, our relationship with Him and our perception of who He is will dramatically change. When we look for God; not as the judge of our court case or ruler of a kingdom or tour guide of life, but when we look for Him -- as a wife does for her soldier husband in an airport where he’s arriving from being gone for 2 years, as childhood best friends look for each other in a crowded Starbucks after spending 4 years of college on different sides of the country -- something significant happens. No longer are we just sitting on the bleachers, we’re in the game catching the winning pass from quarterback Jesus, jersey #1. Seeking God as we would a partner, a companion (and these words are such an understatement) opens our hearts – to (see Him as) a Father who wants nothing more than to put you on His shoulders and carry you around the ball-park; to a Friend who wakes up at 3 in the morning to drive across 3 states when all you say is, “I need you”; to the One who’s trying to win your heart so He misses the game that all the scouts are at-waiting for him to pitch the perfect game-because you just had your appendix taken out and don’t want to be left alone; to a Savior who, with anticipation, travels to be die on a cross because He wants you to have a chance to be with Him for eternity; because His heart is set on you. How silly of me to think that God should just pursue me, that I should try to love and win Him over as much as He loves me and tries to win my heart. I mean, He sent His Son to die a sinner’s death, how much more of a love pursuit do you need?! And as I long to be pursued and sought after, so does HE! And what’s so spectacular is that He guarantees us we’ll find Him. So scan the crowds: He’s given us an “X marks the spot!” There’s a big target right on God, complete with flashing lights, noisemakers and Liam Neeson’s (or Sean Connery, your preference) voice booming, “WARM… WARMER… HOT!”
With our hearts, we seek Him, we find Him.
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