Tag: seeking

Am I A “Seeker”?

Neal Pollard

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus states a simple but profound truth: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matt. 7:7). This is a promise! For our particular focus, notice the middle promise. If you seek, you will find! Seeking implies striving to find for one’s own interest or advantage. 

We often talk about someone who has yet to obey the gospel but who is looking as a seeker. That seems to be the thought shared by Jesus here. But seeking does not end at the baptistery steps. It is a lifestyle, an ongoing decision that may be challenged by distractions and substitutions. There are other things people seek–worldly wisdom (1 Cor. 1:22), their own righteousness (Rom. 10:3), self-interest (1 Cor. 10:24; 13:5; Phil. 2:21), pleasing men (Gal. 1:10), glory from men (1 Th. 2:6), and similar poor alternatives.

But God is seeking those who keep seeking Him and what He offers. This extends beyond the process of becoming His child. Various New Testament writers describe the seeking life.

  • Seek Christ’s kingdom above material things (Mat. 6:33).
  • Seek the glory and honor and immortality that God offers (Rom. 2:7).
  • Seek souls that can be saved (1 Cor. 10:33). 
  • Seek to use your gifts for the strength of the whole church (1 Cor. 14:12).
  • Seek the realities of heaven (Col. 3:1). 
  • Seek peace and pursue it (1 Pet. 3:11).

“The word implies serious effort, and can be used of seeking information (e.g., John 16:19) and of seeking to perform an action” (Luke 6:19)(Mangum, Lexham Theo. Wdbk., np). Have you ever searched for something valuable you owned but misplaced? The greater its value to you, the more intense and sustained your search. What Jesus offers is worth more to us than the whole world (cf. Mat. 16:26)! He wants us to have and keep a mindset that never ceases from serious effort to pursue. How can we be a daily seeker?

  • Include it in our daily prayers, that we will seek God’s will each and every day.
  • Be bold enough to make uncomfortable choices that accomplish His will.
  • Look for people who need His saving gospel and share Him!
  • Keep earthly interests and material things in their perspective, as tools to use for God’s glory and not idols to displace Him.
  • Put Him above every relationship, which means letting no relationship cause us to live contrary to His will or disobey His Word.
  • Do not let the world do our thinking for us on any moral, ethical, or similar issue.
  • Immerse ourselves in His Word, feeding and nourishing not only our soul but also our resolve.
  • Live joyfully, demonstrating thanksgiving for God’s good and perfect gifts.
  • Keep adding to this list!

A Lonely, Lonely Man

Neal Pollard

My sons and I often say that we don’t really want to know much about our favorite singers. It seems that there’s always immorality and stories of their ungodliness. That’s as true of many of the rock, country, and easy listening singers from decades ago as those making music today. Despite my having grown up in the south, today I was able to do something I’ve never gotten the opportunity to do. Kathy and I toured Graceland with our gracious hosts, Barry and Celicia Grider. We enjoyed ourselves. This tour tended to glamorize and sanitize his life and career. Elvis Presley enjoyed a meteoric rise to stardom, and he was a global icon. He made more money than he could spend, though his lavish collections of furniture, cars, instruments, clothes, and the like shows that he tried. Despite his love of gospel music and religious roots, there were the affairs, drugs, and fast living that likely contributed to his premature death at age 42. His daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, who remembers him reading often, “He had stacks next to his bed. He read all the time…Always of a spiritual nature. Always looking. Always searching for something” (from a placard in the mansion). Gospel preacher, C.W. Bradley, preached his funeral thanks to the connection of Elvis’ stepmother. But there is no evidence that his search led him to obey and live the truth, and there’s evidence to the contrary.  He once sang a song where he said, “It’s a lonely man who wanders all around, It’s a lonely man who roams from town to town.  Searching, always searching

for something he can’t find, hoping, always hoping that someday fate will be kind.”

Billions never achieve the fame or wealth of Elvis, but live their lives on a similar quest. They live, always searching for something they can’t find. Solomon spends so much time, with access to wisdom, wealth, wine, and women. He found, in his grand experiment, that these did not fill the void. Instead, the answer was to “fear God and keep His commandments” (Ecc. 12:13). This beautiful hope is shared by Jesus in the greatest sermon ever preached. He teaches, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Mat. 7:7-8).  These things are written to keep mankind from duplicating the future search for purpose and meaning. It has been revealed. Let’s look in the only place where loneliness is vanquished—in the presence of God!

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