Searching

They’re on the bus. They’re at the supermarket. They’re walking to work.

Some have a smile on their face. Some are laughing. Some look worried. Some, depressed.

You see them ordering coffee. You watch them reading a book. They’re on their cell phone.

And they’re running past you.

They all look different. Different hairstyles, different colored skin, different features. Some bear the wrinkles of time. Some show the innocence of youth. Others, the scars of heartache and pain.

But through all of these differences, in all of these dissimilarities, there is one thing in common:

They’re all searching.

They’re searching for promise in the morning paper. They’re searching for meaning in their career. They’re searching for hope in the latest bestseller. They’re searching for purpose in their looks.

They’re searching for something greater than themselves. They’re searching for a reason for living. They’re searching for something…anything…

They’re searching for more.

Despite the success, despite the popularity, despite the wisdom garnered over the years, there is an emptiness about their lives. They know there is something else out there. They know this can’t be it. They know there is a greater calling.

But they can’t find it where they’re looking.

Some will search their whole lives. Some will move on from event to event, pleasure to pleasure, craze to craze to find what they’re looking for. Some, weary from the search, will simply give up and decide there is nothing more, there is nothing else. There is just this…and that’s it.

They will never know of the power of Jesus Christ. They will never know of the overwhelming love that He brings. They will never see the joy that He gives…of the freedom that He offers, of the grace that He pours out.

Because though they’re searching, they’re looking in the wrong places. They’re knocking on the wrong doors, they’re being guided by the blind and led by the ignorant.

And so they declare, with faithlessness and gracelessness, in anguish and in frustration, in hurt and despair,

“As for me, I’m still searching.”
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We’re on the bus. We’re at the supermarket. We’re walking to work.

Some of us have a smile on our face. Some of us are laughing. Some of us look focused. Some, burdened.

We’re ordering coffee. We’re reading the Bible. We’re praying.

And we’re running past them.

We all look different. We have different hairstyles, difference colored skin, different features. Some of us bear the wrinkles of time. Some of us show the innocence of youth. Others, the scars of past heartache and pain.

But through all of our differences, in all of our dissimilarities, there is one thing in common: we’ve stopped searching.

For some reason, we’ve all stopped searching.

We’ve found the truth. We know the promise. We’ve experienced the joy. We’ve seen the purpose.

We’ve found someone greater than ourselves. We’ve found our reason for living. We’ve found Jesus Christ. We know they’re is something more.

And yet, still, we’ve stopped searching.

We’ve forgotten what it was like. We have forgotten the emptiness. We’ve forgotten the tears. We’ve forgotten the heartache….the desperation…the loneliness.

And in all our reading, in all our studying, in all of our listening, and in all of our praying, we’ve forgotten one command.

“Go.”

“Go and make.” “Go and baptize.” “Go and teach.” “Go and obey.”

They’re all around us. We see them and yet we forget them. We witness them, and yet fail to witness to them. We hear them but never listen.

We’ve all stopped searching.

We have the key. We hold the map. We know the Way. We’ve seen the hope.

We are the light.

So…let us shine. Let us burn brightly.

Let us “Go.”

And let us declare, with grace and truth, with gentleness and respect, with promise and purpose,

“But as for me, I’m still searching.”
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And maybe…just maybe…by the grace of God, we’ll find each other.