Have you ever gone looking for something and you stare at the exact spot where it’s supposed to be and somehow you can’t still find it? I’m betting your answer is yes, this has probably happened to you once or twice. I’m sure there is some scientific reason why this happens but I’m yet to discover it but hey, in case you know the reason why this happens, feel free to let me know.
I remember one such incident from when I was a child; my dad had sent me to get his keys from his wardrobe in a spot where I knew he always kept it but something funny happened when I got there on this particular day, I couldn’t find it. Trust me I tried to find it, I scanned the area of the wardrobe over and over again and yet the keys seemed to have mysteriously vanished and so I decided that my dad had probably placed it somewhere else.
I went back and shared this thought with him but lo and behold, he was adamant that the keys where in fact on his wardrobe and so I dragged my chubby feet back to his room to try and find it. The same thing happened the second time around and I knew it would be no use going back to tell him that I couldn’t find it so I decided to bang the wardrobe around. My reason was simple, keys made noise and even if I couldn’t find it in the place I was looking, perhaps I would find it in another section of the wardrobe. My plan worked but to my surprise the key wasn’t in some hidden part of the wardrobe, it was right in front of me where my dad said it would be.
Very strange isn’t it? I had stared and scanned and yet my eyes couldn’t see what was in front of me. Life is funny that way sometimes, you search and search but you can’t seem to find, it always feels like something is eluding you, you think you have an idea where it could be but when you get there you still can’t find it. I wonder what could be some of those things we are staring at and yet we don’t see them; the truth I’m guessing is one of such elusive things.
“The thing you are searching for is right in front of you”, this is a phrase that is used often and it is commonly used to refer to when someone doesn’t realize that true love is closer than they know but I think this phrase can be applied to life in general as well. How many times do we search for things and we don’t find them? I believe one of the reasons is that we’re so convinced that it isn’t there and so we go around and around when the truth has always been where they said it would be.
There are some questions in life that have no right answers and can be subject to opinions. Let’s take for example; music genre. The type of music you like is the type of music you like but this in no way means your genre is the best or superior to other genres, it simply is just the one you decide to like because in different circumstances you would have preferred classical music to rock music. Having varying opinions about music is great, welcomed in fact, because it helps us appreciate the different art form that each genre represents but there are some things in life where opinions don’t matter. Now I’m not saying you won’t have your opinions, opinions are great, but your opinions won’t change the truth.
I believe one of such truths is the existence of God. The bible says in 2 Timothy 2:13, KJV “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.” I love this verse because it tells me that if for some reason, the whole world stops believing in God, it will not change the fact that He exists. Another truth is that Jesus is the Son of God who came and died for our sins and He is the only way to the Father and our faith in Him guarantees us abundant life in the here (John 10:10) and eternal life in the hereafter (John 3:16).
I understand that there may be legitimate reasons why people don’t believe in God or why they don’t believe Jesus is the only way to Him but these are timeless truths and it is when we believe that we can truly find what we’ve been looking for. If you seem to never find satisfaction in life and you have everything you could possibly want or if you think it is having in it all that you will find satisfaction, I want to tell you that the answer is Jesus. If you think this is cliché lol, it isn’t at all, it is the truth and the truth is often simple just like the keys were always there and looking for it in other places only made me frustrated and tired.
I think today is a good time as any to think about what you feel always eludes you, that despite all you have (or maybe don’t have) you seem to be missing something. The answer can be found in Ephesians 3:19, NLT “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all fullness of life and power that comes from God.”(Emphasis mine). God is the one we’re always looking for whether we realize it or not because He only has the power to complete us and so today I say to you like my dad said to me all those years ago, go back to God, He has what you have been looking for.
The Christian journey is in no way an easy one, nothing amazing in life ever is. Just like in any relationship, you have to commit to seeing your relationship with God thrive and grow. The amazing thing is that you always have help in the person of the Holy Spirit but this is a topic for another day. I pray that you’ll understand what I’m trying to say because the truth of Jesus is the most liberating thing anyone can know, it transforms in a way that nothing else can and it gives peace to our minds and rest for our souls. I pray that one day you’ll be able to say like the man in John 9:25, “Once I was blind but now I see”.
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis is a great book to read to learn more about Christianity and it’s for you if you need further convincing.
