The Search

I have often found myself reflecting on the tension between the role of human choice and the need to simply submit to God's choice. While these two seem to be contradictory, both are needed in our walk with God. In theology, the classic debate is between Augustine and Pelagius or between Calvin and Arminius. To this day, it's seems much easier to simply retain the debate (and throw stones at the other side) than it is to try to see the need for both emphases. For example, Calvin clearly taught that God's choice to save us is prior to our choice, that we would have no choice if God did not choose first. Some then took his teaching to an extreme and concluded that human beings are merely passive recipients of God's grace. Arminius objected and tried to define (withine the context of Dutch Calvinism) a role for faith as the human response to God's choice. For those who love to debate (and prove how smart they are), it still seems unlikely that these two positions can be reconciled. I contend that, in light of Scripture, both positions are right.

There's no question that "the search" begins with God seeking us. God promised through the prophet that he would take the initiative to search for his lost sheep (Ezekiel 34:11). Jesus defined his mission as "seeking" and "saving" the "lost" (Luke 19:10). There would be no plan to redeem and restore humankind apart from God's initiative. Those who claim that humans can initiate their own salvaton with an act of will do not see the clear pattern of Scripture - God has sought us out and as a result, we have been given the opportunity to respond to his initiative in our lives. 

In fact, I'm struck by the fact that God highly values our "search." Somehow we not only have the opportunity to respond to God, the extent to which we respond with passion and diligence is important. We are not only to respond in some passive, "hopeful" way, but with all our hearts, a search that reflects a profoundly deep hunger and thirst for God and his righteous rule. (Pascal's "Wager" is not enough.)

In the early days of God's relationship with Israel God promised, "if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you see him with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deuteronomy 4:29). It's not that God is playing some kind of "hide and go seek" game with his people; God just wants to see the heart of the human seeking after God. Are they just being superficially religious, or do they really want to know God? 

David, a man after God's own heart, clearly proclaimed his passion. "You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you" (Psalm 63:1). On the other hand, some are not truly dedicated to the search. "In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all this thoughts there is no room for God" (Psalm 10:4). The wisdom of Solomon provides important life lessons for those who truly want to know God. Concerning a desire for wisdom we read, "If you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God" (Proverbs 2:3-5). Later words are put in the mouth of wisdom personified: "I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me" (Proverbs 8:17).

I'm fascinated by another statement made by Solomon: "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings" (Proverbs 25:2). While God is not hiding himself or truth from us, God chooses to reveal himself in a way that calls for a search. A polite but passive hearing will not lead to a discovery of God's truth. In fact, God has designed human beings to want to, and be able to "search out a matter." It is their glory! (That's why there should be no real conflict between faith and the scientific method of inquiry.)

The prophets continued to preach among the people God's desire for an earnest, heart-felt search. "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13). Unfortunately, the people being addressed by the prophets were not always deeply sincere and passionate about the need to turn and submit to God. Their religious responses were superficial and short-term. The prophet Hosea put it this way: "Israel’s arrogance testifies against him, but despite all this he does not return to the Lord his God or search for him" (Hosea 7:10). When Hosea called the people to repentance, he proclaimed, "Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you" (Hosea 10:12). I love how the prophet Amos put it in clear and simple terms: "This is what the Lord says to Israel: 'Seek me and live'" (Amos 5:4).

Jesus came with a renewed call to repentance, announcing the Good News of God's Kingdom. He was clear in exposing the deficiency of external religion as well as the life centered on temporal values. "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33). The follower of Jesus must "seek" certain things, must diligently search for certain things. Those things are sumarized by anything and everything that might be implied by God's righteous rule in every area of life. The search for God's and a sincere submission to God's authority is the essence of what it means to follow Jesus.

Later in the New Testament the life of faith is defined for us in clear terms: "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" (Hebrews 11:6). Our belief in God is not a matter of philosophical precept but values and decisions founded on a clear convinction that our God is a certain kind of God: A god who "rewards" those who "earnestly seek him." God is not looking for shallow commitment but rather a passionate heart that searches for God at every point in life, a passionate love relationship with the Father Creator and with the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

So those who conclude that Jesus followers are just passive recipients of God's grace, while reflecting an important truth, are missing the mark. A passive response is exactly what God is not looking for. God is looking for sons and daughters who so hunger and thirst for him that they will dedicate their lives to the Search.