“Oh God, you are my God. Earnestly I seek you; my soul thirst for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life my lips will glorify you.” Psalm 63:1-2

“The sin that believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, and remains alive because there is nothing for which it will die.” Dorothy Sayers

We were created to search. We were made for adventure. Our whole life is designed by God to seek him, find Him and enjoy him, both now and eternally. Moses expressed it like this: ‘Now, show me your glory.” (Exodus 33:18) David expressed it like this: “My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face.’ Your face, O Lord, will I seek.” (Psalm 27:8) David’s counsel to his son Solomon went like this: “If you seek him, he will be found by you.” (1 Chronicles 28:9) Jeremiah’s counsel to the exiles in Babylon concerned God’s future plan for them. A time would come when they would “call upon me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:12-13) And Hebrews describes the faith that pleases God is one that believes that he exists and rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6) 

This search is not mere religious ritual, but a heartfelt, all-consuming passion. As David confesses, “God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you, my soul thirst for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” This thirst comes from deep within the soul. His desire, his hunger and his longing comes from a God-shaped vacuum in his heart. Augustine wrote: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until it rests in you.” Jonathon Edwards added this: “True religion, in large part, consists of holy affections.” Those affections are fixed upon God.

True and vital religion cannot remain indifferent or lukewarm. The treasure we seek and the glory promised demands a love that seeks him and serves him with all our whole heart and with all of our soul. (Deuteronomy 10:12) He is the treasure hidden in the field (Matthew 13:44), the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45), that causes us to sell everything we have in this world to gain him. The chance to know Christ Jesus in all his glory is the reason we consider every other treasure rubbish by comparison. (Philippians 3:7-12) A lukewarm heart toward God causes him to spit. (Revelation 3:16) 

And, it is important for us to note. “No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him.” (John 6:44) This drawing takes away any credit we could claim for chasing after him. The impulse to seek him originates from God, but the out working of that desire is our following hard after God. This is personal. It is a relationship. Personality seeking Person. There is no room for half-hearted piddling. The Lord of glory, draws us to himself. Incredible!

So, where do we seek Christ? Where can we find him? Where is his glory displayed in its fullness? The goldmine, the treasure field, the vista of breath-taking beauty, are all found in Holy Scriptures. There God speaks to us and reveals to us the glory of Christ, in whom are hidden all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:3) There he speaks just as clearly and powerfully as he did when he first inspired its authors. The Bible is living and pulsating with the presence of the Holy Spirit, who delights in pointing to the beauty of Jesus. He opens our eyes. He gives understanding. He excites the heart. He increases faith. He reveals the glory of Christ. 

We will never see all of the infinite perfections of our Lord, in this life or the next. This search will never end. But, what he has revealed, what he invites us to partake of now, makes life an awesome adventure of constant discovery and rejoicing. The seeking is almost as satisfying as the seeing. There is always more treasure and pleasure to be found in him, just around the corner. Each engagement with Him in His Word reveals another reason why we can and should and will, rejoice in the Lord. (Philippian 4:4) 

So, what have we learned? God is the Reward of Life. We were made by God to seek him, see him, savor him, serve him, share him and find our complete satisfaction in him. Life is meant to be one soul-consuming passionate search. God has invited us to pursue him and has promised that we would find him. No Christian should ever be accused of a living a boring existence. Our quest is more exciting and more rewarding than man’s quest to land on Mars. For sure the world is full of distractions, false gods we too often are deluded into seeking. (Psalm 4:2) But all of the world’s treasures does not compare to this one Target.

Therefore, we pray for help. We ask the Spirit for faith to believe what God has laid out for us in Scripture. We ask for spiritual clarity that we may see the wonderful things he has revealed in the pages of Scripture. We make difficult decisions to throw off other side pursuits for the one that really matters. We set our mind and hearts on discipline and perseverance. Most of the treasure we seek is not laying on the surface to be picked up by the casual seeker. It is hidden in the Scriptures and must be worked for, dug out, pounded upon and squeezed, until its delights yield to the soul’s craving for more of the riches of Christ. 

The question we must ask ourselves is this: Is the pursuit of Christ worth living for, even dying for? Or, is our search for comfort, security and pleasure in the things of this world the driving force of our hearts? No one is saying that we are not to rejoice in what God has given us. But the Bible declares and even demands that Jesus Christ be the target of our greatest passion. (Luke 9:23-25; Matthew 10:37-39)

The Bible is the place where we encounter and grasp the Christ of our quest. A. W. Tozer said it well in these words: “The Bible is not the end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into him, that they might delight in his presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts.” A. W. Tozer- The Pursuit of God, p. 10. Happy hunting!