“…I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10
Dear Ones:
The first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, stepping into history and planting His cross, is that very declarative statement by God that He is coming again. He came once, subject to the weaknesses of men, and enveloped by a world of unbelief and opposition. But He overcame every enemy, and point of defiance to His coming and work, in order to awaken the consciences of men to the reality of God’s presence, person, and power. His was not just a historical event, but a personal visitation of the heart. His declaration that He was, and is, the truth, is the bedrock of all consideration of the purpose of the existence of man. In the truth of His words, and the revelation of His life, is found not only liberating knowledge of the truth, but the power of an indestructible Life that He waits to give to those who will seek and find Him.
Throughout history, even before Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, men and women, boys and girls, have sought Him…and found Him. In the book of Jeremiah, we read: “And you shall seek Me, and find Me, when you shall search for me with all your heart.” (29:13) The problem with finding him has to do with the response of our hearts to the consciousness of need, and conviction in our hearts. There is no doubt that God is speaking every day, and in every way, to call men out of darkness into the light, and Life of His presence. But what do we do when, in this context of sin and the effects of sin throughout history, we come face to face with personal, heart and soul felt need? Is there that “thought” of God? Is there that pursuit of Him as the ultimate, and sole reality? It is then that the Spirit works in a wonderful way, to create within us a hungering and thirsting after Him. His objective is to create in the heart a conviction which will move our wills to truly seek Him…and find Him. Hunger and thirst are very real needs. When the Spirit of God works in our hearts, He brings us to see that the profound needs of our hearts and souls CANNOT be met by anything or anyone other than God…for who can change the heart but God? We may try to reform it, tame it, and master it, but only God has the power by His Spirit to CHANGE it, giving us a new one.
One of the great certainties of Scripture is the declaration by God, both in the New Testament, and the Old, “…’and I WILL be found by you,’ saith the Lord.” (Jer.29:14) The Lord Jesus would reiterate these words by declaring: “…seek and ye shall find…for EVERY ONE that seeketh, findeth.” (Matt. 7:7,8) The issue is one of conviction and commitment. God brings us to a consciousness of our need, in order to bring us to the conviction of things as they are. He then brings us to the commitment to seek in order to find. He is found by those who seek Him with the whole heart. It is a certainty.
Dear Father, give us grace to see and understand Your heart, and to grasp, that as the Lord Jesus has come once to die, He comes every day to give us life by the Spirit. You have done everything in order to save us, and are continually working to reveal Yourself to our hearts. Bring us to conviction and to the commitment of ever seeking Thee, finding Thee continually as that One who has called to Life. We praise Thee for Your unspeakable Gift in Christ, that we might we might Live by Him, for Thy glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad