Ponderings

So, based on some recent conversations (at church and at Bible study) and wonderings of my own mind, I have a question to pose to those who might consider such things. How can we get further in our relationship with God and experience of God if we are so unwilling to spend the time with God in order to get there?
I find it very interesting that the testimony of Scripture is so clear about how and what and we search for some other means by which to come into these experiences and then we blame God or get mad when we find ourselves so far from experiencing the very presence of God that we claim that we seek.
God says that you will find Him if you seek Him with your whole heart, surely you will find Him. If His Word is true and the testimony down through the ages bears witness to the truth of the possibility of living in an intimate relationship with God, why is it that we don't believe that it is possible for us? Is it only because it is outside the scope of our experience? Is it that we don't want to look at ourselves to closely because we might not like what we find? Is it easier to express anger or frustration than it is to change our life direction and focus?  Is our pride so great that we don't want to admit that our pursuits have been wrong or that we haven't taken God at His Word so that we might have the experience of His presence? Why do we think it has to be so hard or by some other means than what God has said?
If only we would take Him at His Word and seek Him with our whole heart, if we would draw near unto Him, He would draw near unto us. If we would spend the same amount of time pursuing God that we spend pursuing the things of this world, you know sports, entertainment, money, sex, etc, we just might find ourself with the experience of the presence of God. Maybe it isn't the fault of the church or the pastor or the past or my failures or the thought that God doesn't love me. Maybe it is that we aren't taking Him at His Word and coming to Him in the prescribed manner to find what we are looking for.
There was a rich young ruler who came to Jesus and asked what he must do in order to inherit eternal life. It was his question, his pursuit. Jesus answered that he must keep the law and commandments. The young man said he had done all this, and yet he still had the question of what must he do because something was missing. He knew there must be more. So, Jesus told him he lacked one thing, and he told him what he must do in order to experience the more that he was seeking. The rich young man was unable or unwilling to do this one thing and he went away sad because he knew he wasn't going to experience the more that he was searching for.
How like us this parable is. We are searching for more because we are somehow dissatisfied with our condition, yet we are unwilling or unable to pay the price to experience that which we are searching for.
My prayer for you is that you may find that place deep within yourself that knows that if you take God at His Word, life will have the meaning that you are searching for, that you will become truly satisfied, that you will come to know God in ways that you have always longed for. Something inside needs to break. It may be pride, it might be fear, it could be bondage to the past. It could be any number of things, but be assured, until it breaks and you take God at His Word, you will never find what you are looking for. You will not experience that quality of life we call eternal life. You will experience a void that causes heartache until it is filled with the experience of His presence.
So, what is it that you seek? Are you going after the things of God? I hope so.

Pastor Jeff