MrsDrPoe: Seeking

In a couple of recent studies in Mark and Luke, the topic of seeking God has come up. I've found it very interesting how, though both writers present the concept, they each present it in a different way.

A running theme in Mark is "inside" vs "outside." As Jesus teaches outside by the sea, we see huge crowds gathered around Him listening; however, many of these individuals are not truly seeking Jesus. In Mark 4:3-9, we see Jesus presenting the parable of the sower. Christ brackets the parable by "Listen!" and "He who has ears to hear let him hear!" Obviously these people came to listen, right? Right...sort of. Jesus is telling His listeners to listen with a purpose...to listen with an ear for the spiritual, not the physical. He's not just telling a nice story about a farmer who only had some of his seed produce!

In verse 10, we see the scene shift, and Jesus is now among His disciples (including the apostles). And they're not just hanging out- the disciples are asking about the parable. Christ answers, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables." The disciples are disciples because they're asking...and because they're disciples, they're are on the inside and can know the mystery of the kingdom. They are seeking!

Luke is a little more forward with the topic, in that the theme of "seeking and finding" is prevalent in the book. In Luke 11:9-13 Jesus tells His disciples, "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." It is my understanding that in this case "ask," "seek," and "knock" activities we must be continually doing. We can see this by examining the parable Jesus tells in the previous verses (5-8). At the conclusion of the parable He says, "...because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many [loaves] as he needs."

From these passages, we can see that, as Christians, we should be seeking God and seeking Him continually. Seeking and asking for wisdom to better understand His word. Seeking and asking for strength in times of difficulty and temptation. Seeking and asking for guidance and growth so that we can become more and more like Christ everyday.

But if we're always seeking, what about everything else? Matt 6:33 says, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." From the verses before, we know that "these things" refer to life's necessities like food, drink and clothing. Thus we can spend our efforts seeking after God and seeking to be like Him, knowing that He will take care of us.