But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul” (Deut. 4:29).
“Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD; and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations.…” (Jer. 29:12–14).
“Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD” (Prov. 8:34, 35).
“Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near” (Isa. 55:6).
Generation after generation, century after century, there have been people who sought the Lord with sincere, honest seeking, and who found him—without ever seeing him face to face in the land of the living. These people found that he was near them, that he never left them nor forsook them, that he listened to them when they called upon him. They came one by one, through the Lamb, his appointed way—and they came with the motive of wanting to follow him as soon as they could find him. Honest seeking turns into honest following when he is found. The “following” is not just a nebulous religious act, a mystical ceremony; it is an open, frank, honest belief that there is a Person to follow, and that the Person is God, a personal God who responds.
This kind of specific, assured following brings with it a spontaneous telling of others. “One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus” (John 1:40–42). Remember old Anna, who had waited and watched for the Messiah for many years, praying daily in the Temple; she recognized the One for whom she was watching, even though he was a tiny baby. “And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38).
Those who are convinced that the Second Person of the Trinity, the Son of God, the long awaited Messiah, has indeed come, need no urging to tell others of this fact, so exciting and at the same time so deeply comforting. If people care about other people, the finding of that which has been sought, the “seeing” of what has been watched for, brings a burst of response, and then a rush of communication.
Come to the opposite of positive, sincere, honest seeking. “And they watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day, that they might accuse him” (Mark 3:2). The motive of these Pharisees, who were religious men, well trained and proud, was to find a flaw, so that they could “accuse him.” Verse six of this chapter shows how these men pounced on the “evidence” they felt they had found by their negative watching. “And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.” “Now we have him” was their feverish reaction to the healing of the man with the withered hand.
Face to face with the Son of God, the Messiah, these men heard his voice in their ears, looked into his eyes, watched him gently restore a man’s withered hand, but they did not find him. One can be close enough to the living God, as they were, to feel his breath upon one’s face, to have one’s ears ring with his voice—and yet not find him. The finding is something that, God tells us, depends upon a deep sincerity, described as “seeking with all thine heart.”
What a frightening picture of “hard hearts” and their effect on the senses! How ineffectual is clear proof to those who are watching with only a desire to disprove. And how staggering a picture we are given when we realize that the Pharisees, the religious rulers, are not confined to one moment of history. Other religious men, too, have watched him, looking for new and brilliant ways of accusing him of not being who he says he is so they might destroy him.
We are told to be aware of the rapid passing of time, and of the increasing “signs of his coming,” and we are to watch with assurance that he will keep his promises to come back again and restore that which has been spoiled. We are to watch with loving faith, not suspicion. We are to watch with awe and admiration, not scorn and superiority. “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.… Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Matt. 24:42–44).
“Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them” (Luke 12:37). If we read the previous verses we will see that those who do this kind of watching are “seeking first the kingdom of God.” They have provided themselves “with bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth” (v. 33). There is a key given to how to watch with the right motives: “for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (v. 34).
Jesus spoke sharply to the disciples about watching with him in the garden of Gethsemane. “What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt. 26:40, 41). Added to the “key” of putting our treasure in heaven is the command to pray with our watching, in order to ward off temptations. “Watch and pray”: Jesus gives us this combination command to follow actively, not simply to read as devotional words. Watch for his coming, but watch also that Satan’s subtle temptations don’t twist and turn us aside. And the watching must be accompanied by close communication with our Heavenly Father.
If the disciples needed to watch and pray at that time, how much more do we need to watch and pray day by day now. Not only is there danger of temptations that we recognize as “evil,” but Pharisees with other names can also tempt us. Satan uses whatever would be most likely to succeed.
Let us then “be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain” (Rev. 3:2).
