Columnist Herb Caen wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle: "Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle; when the sun comes up, you'd better be running."
Spurgeon wrote likewise: "If you are not seeking the Lord, the Devil is seeking you. If you are not seeking the Lord, judgment is at your heels."
In the Christian life, it's not enough simply to wake up. We are called to run with Christ, to become more like Christ, to press ahead in godliness. -- Bill Effler, San Mateo, CA
In John's Gospel, When Jesus turned and confronted two of John the Baptist's disciples as they began following him, they were startled by his question and its directness.
"What are you looking for?" (NRSV) What are we looking for? We are a destination-obsessed culture. We are busy people with busy schedules. Just look at our business cards: name, address, work phone number, home phone number, car phone number, beeper number, fax number, e-mail address, web site, etc. We don't have time to scratch our heads saying, "Now what was I looking for?"
Our culture is looking for something - desperately. Leonard Sweet tells us, There is a quest for some sort of awakening, a deep hunger for spiritual renewal, lurking behind all the scheduled chaos that fills our life. For many there is this gnawing emptiness deep inside the soul. We are trying all kinds of things to fill this emptiness.
Some people are looking to angels. But angel books, angel pillows, angel towels, angel statues, angel jewelry, angel stationery and angel calendars may fill your home without ever producing an angelic spirit in its midst.
Still others look to crystals, pyramids, animal spirit-guides, herbal potions, dream shapers, dream catchers and shaman's secrets to provide the spiritual spark that is missing in our technologically processed, time-ticking daily schedules.
Let me suggest that we are looking for the True and Living God. Everyone is looking for Jesus. Everyone is looking for the living Spirit of God to be in their lives - even if they don't realize it.
Bags of crystals won't answer the need. The answer to Jesus' soul-searching question, "What are you looking for?", can't be brought home from the shopping mall. Each one of us has a hole in the heart that only Christ can fill.
Jesus said, "Come to me, all you toiling and burdened ones, and *I* will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28, Wey). Only by believing, trusting in Christ, as your Lord and Savior from sin can you find rest, satisfaction for your soul.
If you seek the Lord with your heart, you will find Him. "You will seek me and find me, says the LORD, when you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13, NIV).
What are you running after, looking for? To find God? To continue your spiritual search? To continue your lifetime mission of growing a soul? The only answer that satisfies the question "What are you looking for?", is found in "Jesus, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world."
The Corliss Street Baptist Church cordially invites seekers and visitors to search and find the Lord. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16, NIV).
