A God who Seeks us . . .

While the Bible is filled with verses that tell us to SEEK God, He also says in both OT and NT that, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

Sin drove a wedge. No one wants to seek God leaving Him to initiate a restored relationship with us. In the OT, God says in Ezekiel 34:11–12; 16.

“Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness . . . . I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy . . . .”

In the NT, Jesus said He came to “seek and to save the lost.” Some of what He instructs me to do reflects that seeking heart. For instance, He says I’m not to “seek my own interests” but rather those of Jesus Christ. I am told to seek good for others in love rather than being self-seeking, and to seek glory and honor for God rather than my own glory. Whatever the Bible tells me about seeking often describes the seeking heart of Christ.

Also, a few verses plainly speak of God seeking His people. In Luke 13:5–6, Jesus uses a parable to show how God seeks repentance and a changed, fruitful life:

“No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none . . . .”

In John 4:23–24, Jesus says God looks for true worship:

“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

The NT implies throughout that God seeks faithful disciples who will be good stewards of their calling and share the good news with others. He came to “seek and save the lost” and says, “As the Father sent me, so send I you” expecting me to also seek the lost with their salvation in mind.

In His seeking us, a sacrifice was major in what had to be done. This is true for me also: 1 Corinthians 10:33 says, “Just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.”

Again, His sacrifice on a cross was part of God seeking me. Giving my life to serve Him is what Jesus did and is to be reflected in the way I live, not seeking my own interests but those of Jesus Christ.

Colossians 3:1. If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

1 Corinthians 10:24. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.

1 Corinthians 1:22–25. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Doing any of these means that I need to remember that any righteousness I have is from God and not my own, not making the error of many who are ‘religious’ as described in Romans 10:3: “For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.”

Galatians 1:10 puts it this way: “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ” and 1 Thessalonians 2:6: “Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ.”

Instead, I am to be like Jesus as 1 Thessalonians 5:15 says: “See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.”

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. Hebrews 11:6 tells me, “Without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” so I know that seeking Him is vital, yet faith knows that I would never have even thought of it had He not first sought me. I must apply that in my relationships just as God initiates relationships by sacrificing Himself for the good of others.