Here we go again, another short write up from me. This time, I want to share my perspective on getting closer to God in a postmodern world. Here’s what I mean- we’re living in a time that’s unlike any other. We are the helm of technological advancement. The sheer amount and access to information have never been so easy. With social media, we are more connected than ever before. Here’s what I want to address, with everything around, how do we as young people walk with Jesus today?
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
— Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)
Seeking God
In this blog, I want to address a spiritual concept. A spiritual concept that intimidates most Jesus followers, especially young people and those who are considering following God. That is this concept of Seeking God… Sounds like a deep topic right? Let’s get right to it… The first part of Hebrews 11:6 mentions you have got to believe in God, in other words, put your faith in Him. You do this as mentioned in Romans 10:9– If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Now the second part of Hebrews 11:6 says God rewards people who earnestly SEEK HIM. Now for most of us who grew up in Church, just the mention of the Word ‘Seek’ can put us off. Or when a preacher mentions “SEEK GOD CHURCH!”, everyone gets alarmed for some reason.
Imagine this, if someone were to take a survey in our churches and ask every believer “Are you a God Seeker”? I’m sure our knee-jerk reaction would be “What do you mean”? And the response is simply “Are you seeking God”, most of us would mutter our way to… “I don’t exactly know…”
Most of us wouldn’t call ourselves a bonafide ‘God Seeker’. Here’s what I want to get at, what gets us to a place where we can clearly say “I’m a God Seeker”. Because for a long time to me, if you’re exposed to Church culture or if you have been raised in Godly family, you get some pictures of what it means to seek God. To me, the most common idea of seeking God in my early years is spending hours on end in Prayer and Worship.
I vaguely remember we used to have these prayer meetings as a kid. The time frame of these meetings would usually last around 3-4 hours. Do you know how many songs you have to sing, or how many prayers you need to make to get to the end? A LOT! I used to remember sitting as a young boy thinking of stuff to do to get through this time. I would do some random things like count the number of holes behind the chair in front of me, yeah, don’t judge me! It was difficult. I would think wow these guys still know what to talk to God after 4 hours! I would think to myself, is this what it takes to earnestly seek God? Is this what God is asking me to do? Cause honestly, if this was it, I don’t think I would be up for it.
And you know what, to most of us, especially people of this generation would be out the door if this was what’s needed. Now please, don’t get me wrong. I know we have to have to spend time in prayer and worship for long hours. Jesus himself spent extended hours with His Father on Earth. We have to have dedicated times of communion with God. I wrote a whole piece on it in my other post ‘Silence & Solitude’. What I’m trying to get at is an expanded view of Seeking God. Let’s not put God in our spiritual categories and leave Him out the rest of the time.
Following Jesus Today…
If this is our only perspective, we lose the grandeur of Seeking or walking with God today. God is intentional about being involved in EVERYTHING we do. We need to come to a place to invite God in our everyday living and lifestyle. I believe we become a more effective believer when we represent and follow Jesus in our lifestyle than in individual pockets of time. Let’s not categorize Jesus into a particular setting or time slot. I believe this is why Gandhi said “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ“. Let’s include him in our everyday talk, expression, experience, and eventually our very lifestyle. The world needs a true representation of Jesus in every single thing. We owe the world a true and accurate representation of Jesus!
“I am astonished at people who say they believe in God but live as if happiness is found by giving Him 2 percent of their attention”
— John Piper
One of the most common phrases in the New Testament, Jesus used to call His disciples is ‘Follow me’, In fact, it is mentioned 91 times! This command I believe is to follow Him in everything we do. Not just focus on dedicated pockets of time and forget Him the rest of the day. I believe this is God’s greatest desire, even from the beginning of time, He actually walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day (see Genesis 3:8). Ever since we sinned, this barrier has set us apart but now with Jesus, it’s possible to have this kind of a relationship. May we never lose the grandeur of what it means to walk with God, every single step we take. This is my prayer.
Concluding…
So the next time someone asks you- ‘How’s your walk with the Lord’ or ‘Are you a God Seeker’, don’t get overwhelmed… My prayer is that we would get this expanded view of what it means to follow/seek Jesus today. May we be a people and a generation of people that dedicate our entire lifestyle to Jesus in the big and small! Let’s seek God in long hours, in our schools, in our colleges, at work and more. Let’s pray and be open to Follow Him in everything He has for us…
If you have been blessed by this write-up, feel free to share it with friends and family.
God Bless!
– Sam D. Mathews
Loved it, Sam😜
Very well said 🙂
Very well said😊
Thank you Alisha!
Thank you Apoorva! You've been an encouragement!
Thank you!