There is a line from the 1983 classic song "Sweet Dreams" by the Eurythmics that makes the statement, "Everyone is searching for something." There is a profound truth in that statement.
Every person on the planet from the moment they are born until the day they die are seeking something.
A newborn baby from the moment it is born seeks nourishment, warmth and security. The person on death's door seeks a little more time and through desperation may go to great extremes to hold onto this life for just a few moments longer.
And every person at every stage of life in between these two is seeking something: education, wealth, affirmation, enlightenment, strength, power, freedom, ability, and so on. The list of things people are seeking in this life is endless.
But whatever people are seeking, the same two things drive the motivations behind what they seek: needs and wants. It is our needs and wants that drive us to seek everything in this life.
There have been many studies from psychology through to marketing trying to understand the drivers of our needs and wants. Some seek to understand to help people resolve inner conflicts while others seek ways to motivate or manipulate people by pushing their needs or wants buttons.
Too often though people are seeking the wrong things or looking in the wrong places. They know they need something for they feel a spiritual sense of loss or emptiness within, but they don't know how to fill it. And so they seek to fill this void with the things of this life that can never succeed.
Jesus Asked This Question
At the start of Jesus' ministry He saw two men following Him and He turned to them asking, "What are you seeking?" (John 1:38) However the bible doesn't tell us what their answer was, but it is a question that needs to be answered by all of us.
Everyone who goes to church needs to consider their motivations for why they are attending church meetings. Consider the Lord's question for yourself just for a moment. What are you seeking?
When you go to church, are you seeking companionship or a community of like-minded people? Do you go seeking social connections? Do you go to be entertained by the music or to participate in the service in some way? Or do you go seeking Jesus and the truth of the new covenant?
We know that on Judgement Day there will be many who are rejected even though they have been churchgoers. They will come to imHim Him and say,
'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.' (Matthew 8:22-23)
Knowing Christ
The key we see here is not that we know about Christ, for even the demons know about Him, but that we KNOW Him and more importantly He knows us.
So the answer to the question Jesus asked of the disciples saying, "What are you seeking," is "We are seeking to know You Lord."
And the Lord has promised that if we seek, we will find, and if we ask it will be given and if we knock it will be opened to us. (Matthew 7:7-8) He has also promised that if we truly seek Him, we will have what we need in this world provided we make the search for His truth and His kingdom our first priority. (Matthew 6:25-34)
So seek Jesus and get to know Him. Just as He explained in John 15 where He is the vine and we are the branches, this is how we need to seek and know Him. The branches take life and sustenance from the vine and so too we need to take spiritual life and sustenance from Christ. Then our relationship with Him will be so close that we will know Him and He will know us.
Since retiring from work, John Lemmon now spends his time teaching, preaching and writing about the word of God, answering God's call on him to "Speak to my people." John and his wife Colleen travel all over Australia and you will often find him playing guitar or ukulele outside their caravan somewhere in the Great Outback. You can connect with John on Twitter (@JohnBLemmon) or on his Christian Bible study blog (freegiftfromgod.com/blog).
John Lemmon's previous articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/john-lemmon.html