Seeking God Deliberately

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Matthew 13:44

Whether we seek God or not is a matter of choice. As creatures made in the image of our Creator, we have a natural desire for God. But we may fail to acknowledge our need for Him, and even if we acknowledge our need, we may fail to do anything about it. Seeking God is not an automatic process; it requires both deliberation and decisiveness on our part.

First, think about the concept of deliberation. The verb "deliberate" means to consider a matter carefully or to take thought by weighing the alternatives. If we do a thing deliberately that means that we do it purposefully, having made the choice to take that path rather than others that might have been taken. Only rational creatures, of course, can act deliberately, and that is why we are responsible for our actions. To be "responsible" means that we are "able" to choose our "response." Having been endowed with free will, we can consider the possibilities and then make a choice.

Sometimes it is true, however, that even after we've considered what we should do, we don't always choose to do it. For that reason, our deliberation must be followed by decisiveness. In our spiritual lives, few things are of more practical value than the simple ability to make decisions and to make them stick. Starting with little decisions and working our way up to the big ones, we must gradually build the strength of our decision-making muscles.

But what is sufficient to motivate us in these matters? Paul recommended that we keep in mind "the goodness and severity of God" (Romans 11:22), and we must not forget either of these. Yet of these two motivators, the Scriptures place the greater emphasis on the goodness of God (1 John 4:17-19). What would make a person want to give up everything else in the world in order to know Him? Without any doubt, it is the surpassing goodness of God Himself. And so Jesus said that the kingdom is "like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." In the end, those who seek God are those who choose to do so. It is for nothing less than "joy" that they decide to seek the "treasure" that is God.

Miami Gardens.... let us continue to SEEK to Please God in 2004.

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