I seek God. Every day. Some days more than others. These are typically the very good days or the very bad days.
Why?
It’s a legitimate question. If you are a secular humanist, you probably think me a little quaint and naive. If you are a Christian, you seek him too. But, did you ever ask yourself, why? Seeking God is not looking for an answer to an immediate physical need like food, water, shelter, or security. God is not a physically obvious goal. God is a spiritual destination. The need for God is not physical; but, the need is compelling. With the exception of a few committed secular humanists (I have known 2 in my lifetime), that need is almost universal. You feel it too. Where does it come from?
The first answer is that I sense a deficiency in myself. There is clearly something missing in me. I wake up and walk out into a world that I did not create. Things happen to me that I did not cause. I interact with people in ways that I do not control. I sense that I am a tiny component of a giant ecosystem, an ecosystem that is beyond my control, an ecosystem that will easily go on after my physical death. I am not in charge. That leaves two possibilities: it’s all a giant cosmic accident or there is a creative intelligence behind it. I’ve seen enough accidents to know that this world is not an accident. So, I seek the creative intelligence behind this world.
Nothing new here.
But, why Christianity? There are hundreds of other options.
First, Christianity teaches that there is a part of me that will live on after my physical death. This is a truth that I sense in my heart. This truth too is almost universal. It is incredibly rare to meet someone who believes that death is the end. Most religions include an afterlife. But, Christianity stands alone in one regard. It is exclusive. Christianity teaches that there is a paradise and the only criteria for admission is belief in Christ. Even worse, Christianity teaches that there is a literal burning hell for those who deny Christ. This exclusivity offends a great many people. Fair enough. But is that the right question? Instead of asking, “do I approve of exclusivity?” We should be asking, “is exclusivity true?” The teaching of Christianity fills the intellectual void in my world. Furthermore, it is safe, in that, unlike any other religion, it immunizes me from eternity in hell.
Second, I seek God because I love his plan for me. I love his justice and mercy. I love the fact that he promises to make it all right……in the end. I love the fact that he has prepared a place for me……a wide, open, spacious place. I seek God out of love.
Third, I fear God. God is the creator. He created me. He created our incredibly complex, interconnected ecosystem. He created eternity. He created paradise. But, God also created hell. According to Jesus, hell is not some kind of metaphor. It is a literal pit of fire and it is eternal. And that is a bad thing. So, who decides where your soul will spend eternity? It is not Satan. If Satan were the gatekeeper of hell, we would all be doomed. No, the decision on your eternity rests with God. Fear is an entirely appropriate response to an entity who can and will send you to hell. Christians try to dance around this issue. Pastors avoid it like the plague. It is clearly not popular. But, is it true? Jesus endorses hell. That is good enough for me.
I seek God, primarily in the Bible. I seek him because I love him, his justice, his mercy, and his promise of paradise. But, in the background, I seek God because I fear his threat of hell. I seek him because he fills a gaping intellectual void in my physical and spiritual life.
God, paradise, and eternity complete me. In my heart, I know this.
Nothing else does.
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Jesus explaining the way to God, John 14:6,ESV
“In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
Jesus explaining paradise, John 14:2-3, ESV
‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’
Jesus describing the experience of a man in hell, Luke 16: 24-26, ESV