The Searching Season

In Matthew 7:7, Jesus says "search, and you will find." Lent is, in many respects, the searching season. It is the time when we ponder what Jesus did for us and take stock of what we have done for Him and for His. It is the period during which we ask ourselves tough questions and entertain the possibilities of even tougher answers.

This search does not always play out the way we anticipate. We may not find what we expected. We may not find what we thought we wanted. Jesus offers no assurances in those respects. But he offers better ones.

First, Jesus assures us that we will indeed find. Our quest may take longer than we thought it would or lead us in unfamiliar directions. But ours is not a God who hides what we need to know. So in Matthew 13:35, Jesus declares that he "will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world."

Second, Jesus assures us that we will find good things. "If you ... know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" Good things -- God's good things -- await those who answer this call to the active pursuit of them.

Finally, Jesus assures us that the act of searching will -- in and of itself -- bring us closer to God. After all, Jesus does not just invite us to a destination. He invites us on a journey. And He would hardly do so unless the journey -- the willingness to get up out of our comfortable places and go looking for something else -- was an indispensible part of this enterprise we call faith.