Why Seek Ye . . .

By Michael Pemberton

 "Why seek ye the living among the dead?"

-a comment by a couple of angels wondering at the lack of faith -  Luke 24:5

 I will never forget the time when I was a kid and my brothers and I would search for pirate treasures.  I don't remember how it started, but we really had fun.  We grew up on the shores of Lake Huron right near where it became the Saint Claire River.  One of our furtive imaginations, probably mine, dreamed up the stories of false basements, underground vaults and secret passageways that led from the river to the vaults beneath houses.

 Of course, none of that ever really existed.  But we searched our old Victorian house in vain for years for some clue of how to get into the underground vault.  Childs play.

 There are probably hidden treasures in the world just waiting to be discovered by some indomitable searcher.  But if they are ever found, it will be because somebody looked in the right place, and most likely, for the right thing.  See, the reason we never found the treasure we sought was that there was never any there.

 Have you ever had the joy of finding what you sought for over a long time?  Great isn't it?  But I want you to consider two things this week.  First, not all seekers find.  Seeking is a good thing.  However, if you want to find real life, you have to look in the right place.  You could waste your life searching education, philosophy, music, friendships, drugs and cultures without ever finding life.  Jesus said, "I am the life."  If you want to really know life here and in eternity, you have to find Jesus.  And he is as close as a prayer.

 The second thing to notice is that even those who knew Jesus intimately didn't find him when he could be found.  Amazing!  Do you mean that it is possible to know Jesus, his saving power and eternal life and still miss him?  Yes!  How so?  Well, it is as simple as not believing him.  It is possible to believe in him without believing him.  Without believing that he cares for you and your soul more than you do.  Without believing that he works all things together for your good, that his plans for you are only good, that he is doing a good work in you, or that he is getting glory from your life.  If that one act of faithlessness astonished the angels, how they must wonder at many Christians today!

 Would the angels be astonished at you today?