Seeking Christ (While We Still Can)

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29:13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭55:6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The gospel is best understood when it's discovered, not when it's told. As christians, our influence on the world has a far greater impact when we live the life scripture calls us to, seeking God first and loving our neighbours. When we are known for telling others what to do and how to live, we are putting ourselves in between them and Christ. We need to be transparent. Our goal should be that when people see us, they really see God. What I'm writing might seem hypocritical, but if anything, by writing this it allows this to be a reminder for myself as well. 

The most fulfilling discovery I have ever come across is Jesus Christ. It sounds cliché and I might have lost all, if not most of my readers that don't believe or don't have a relationship with Jesus.  I'm not trying to claim I was the first to discover him either. But once I had that "ah ha moment", my life made sense. Throughout life we are searching, as if we are lost. Whether we are trying to find our purpose or our desires, in the end, our goal is to find ourselves. 

Jesus Christ is both my purpose and my desire. I can't think of anything else that can serve as both and be so energizing. Anything else is draining and exhausting. Sin is heavy but the realization that Jesus is carry the weight for us there is a huge relief of our shoulders. 

When I would get asked about what I would want to be I used to dream of a person that my potential could turn into. Since coming to Christ I now realize that I already am someone. I am loved. I am valued. When someone literally dies for you you can start to see how much they loved and cared for you. The only problem is when that person is gone we can't grow that relationship. We would love to express it back to them with the same enthusiasm. But when they are dead we never really can. 

The great news about Jesus is he died for us but death wasn't the end of his story. Which allows our response to his dying love to not be lost in thin air. He accepts and rejoices in our response. 

The hardest part of following Christ is giving up ourselves. Sacrificing self. The battle between our flesh and spirit is only as real as you acknowledge it. Unfortunately ignoring it doesn't make it go away. When we become more aware of that battle in our own life, sometimes it puts us deeper into a hole. In these moments God can seem so far if not even there in the first place. All of our problems started with a root in our past. By going into these deep and dark memories is when we can pull the roots out and see them for what they are. Once they are made known the root will wither and die in the sun and the plant will be no more.

When we dig down deep enough we'll realize God has been with us since the beginning. Every step of the way he's been our gardener who planted us and is up rooting all the life draining weeds that continue to grow around us. We just have to let him do it.