Sunday Sermons
The Search
The Search
"'Like many of my friends around here', the man continued, 'I've learned a lesson I wish I'd known when I started out': 'Having it all' just isn't enough. There's a limit to the successes worth counting and the toys worth accumulating. Business school never gave me a calculus for assessing the deeper things of life" (The Journey, Our Quest for Faith and Meaning, Os Guinness, p.13)
"Here I am in the twilight years of my life, still wondering what it's all about… I can tell you this, fame and fortune is for the birds" (Straight Talk, Lee Iacocca).
This Search Isn't New
Centuries ago after reaching the zenith of his glory, having achieved and amassed as much as his heart desired, Solomon looked upon all his accomplishments and said, "Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 2:11). A couple of chapters further he honestly observed, "He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance which its income" (5:10). Isaiah boldly proclaimed to his generation, "Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy?" (Isaiah 55:2). In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus reminded us of the temporary and fleeting nature of earthly things (Matthew 6:19-20). When He was speaking to the Samaritan woman by Jacob's well, Jesus noted what is true of all earthy things, they only offer a very temporary satisfaction, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life" (John 4:13-14).
The Invitation to Search
When Paul was addressing the Athenian philosophers he pointed them to the true God who created all things, including all the various races on the earth and urged his audience to seek Him, "that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us" (Acts 17:27).
The Need to Search
"Nothing is more human for people of all backgrounds – for all of us – than a desire to unriddle the mystery of life. One of the bedrock realities of our existence is that none of us will be here for long. C.S. Lewis stated the obvious that we all try to avoid: 'One hundred percent of us die'. How then do we make the most of this brief and marvelous time lived in the face of death?" (Guinness, p. 14).
Not All Searching is the Same
Sadly many today have been erroneously told that there is no such thing as truth: "Like so many of my contemporaries, I took it for granted that there was no meaning. I had motives for not wanting the world to have a meaning; consequently assumed that it had none… Those who detect no meaning in the world generally do so because, for one reason for another, it suits their books that the world should be meaningless" (Aldous Huxley, Ends and Means). "The term 'seeker' is in vogue today, but used far too casually. Often it is only a synonym for the spiritually unattached. Such seekers are rarely looking for anything in particular. Often they are drifters, not seekers, little different from the 'hoppers and shoppers' who surf the media and cruise the malls of the postmodern world. Cool, noncommittal, ever-open and concerned only to cover all bases" (Guinness, p. 25).
Journeying to Arrive
"People make two equal but opposite errors about the journey of life and search for faith. On the one side, are those who prematurely speak as if they have arrived. On the other side, are those who are so conscious of the journey that journeying without end becomes their passion and their way of life. To them it is unthinkable ever to arrive. The journey itself is all. Questions, inquiry, searching, and conquering become an end in themselves. Ambiguity is everything. Sadly for them, such people become seekers who refuse to find what they are looking for" (Guiness, p. 217). Such a mentally reminds me about what the Holy Spirit said concerning various individuals mentioned in the Bible: "As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine" (Ephesians 4:14). "Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new" (Acts 17:21). I find it interesting that in the exact same chapter we find a different group of searchers, "For they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11). Today many people glorify the endless search that never ends in finding the truth, but it isn't as glorious as some claim. Centuries ago Homer correctly said, "There is nothing worse for mortal man than wandering".
The Believers Quest
"The Christian faith maintains an extraordinary balance. We are on a journey, so we are truly travelers with all the attendant costs, risks, and dangers of the journey. But we know why we have lost our original home and, more importantly, we know the home to which we are going. And we know not only the One who awaits us there who makes it home, but the One who goes with us on the journey. To those who say, 'The search itself is its own reward', or 'Better to travel hopefully, than to arrive'. Followers of Christ see it differently. A journey is only meaningful if it has a destination; travelling hopefully is only possible if we are traveling homeward. So all who are followers of Jesus are wayfarers, but not wanderers" (Guinness, pp. 218-219).
Our Very Hopeful Journey
As noted above we are not wandering, that is the frustrating and sad reality of those who are still darkness, "Tossed here and there" Ephesians 4:14; "Like sheep without a Shepherd" Matthew 9:36). We actually know the Way (Matthew 7:21, 24; 14:6). We have clear instruction on how to start on this path and how to stay on it (2 Peter 1:5-11). "For we write nothing else to you than what you read and understand" (2 Corinthians 1:13).
The way or path does not change over time. The path remains the same (Hebrews 13:8; Jeremiah 6:16; Matthew 7:13-14).
We are also not alone on this journey. We have Jesus with us (Hebrews 13:6). We have many examples of people who walked this road before us (Hebrews 11:1), and even many that we knew personally (Hebrews 13:7). Added to this we are surrounded by living believers who encourage us on a weekly basis by their kind words and good example (Hebrews 10:24). We even have shepherds who watch for our souls as we journey (1 Peter 5:2). No matter where we travel in this life, we will find fellow believers on the same path (1 Peter 5:9). On this path there are many opportunities to recharge and be encouraged. Our weekly assemblies, and when we travel and visit other congregations we are encouraged by the brethren in those places. In addition, we have parents, or spouses and siblings who encourage us every night when we come home from a hard day out in the world (Ephesians 6:1-4).
As we travel, we are refined. We are motivated and encouraged to rid ourselves of anything that is slowing or tripping us up (Hebrews 12:1). It is a journey that as we travel we become even more focused and stronger. It is not a journey were we are spent or burn out at the end, but strongest at the end of the trip (2 Timothy 4:6-8). This is not a trip that only the super few or just lucky can achieve. Anyone who really desires to make it, will. Those who simply remain on the quest will arrive (Revelation 21:7). There are some journey's that destination is not that great. Not this one. The destination will be far more amazing that we can realize right now (Romans 8:18). "For you have formed us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you" (Confessions, Augustine). On this journey I will discover that I have learned the real value of everything, and that I have discovered what is truly important and what life is all about (1 Corinthians 2:15; Philippians 4:11-13).
Mark Dunagan | mdunagan@frontier.net
Beaverton Church of Christ | 503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net
