Christmas 2021: Being Found

I’ve had it all wrong for too long and in too many ways. When I heard about shepherds leaving their flocks and going to Bethlehem and wise men traveling months to find Christ, I thought I, too, should journey in hopes of finding God. Such thinking has led me to wonderful people and places; it has also led me to look in all the wrong places, as the song goes. What I didn’t realize until recently was that there is a fundamental flaw in such thinking. This year I am going to try to see and do things differently.

To search for God can lead one to think of God as some sort of possession or object. We go in search of God, and when (and if) we find what we are looking for we hold tightly. We lift the fruit of our search above our heads with the pride of a tournament champion. We cling to God with pride as if we are as precious as what (or who) we’ve found. In some cases, we even use it to bash others over the head.

I now see the arrogance of such searching. I can see how it becomes all about me, about the journey and effort I make, and has little or nothing to do with the God who is above all things, beyond all efforts, and surpasses all understanding. 

I’m going to change the posture of my spiritual journey this year. Instead of setting out to find God, I am going to let God find me. I’m going to open the arms of my heart and wait for God to come and complete the embrace. I am no longer going to look to a distant place or time, but look for God right where I am. I am going to try to resist the temptation to read too much, to stop conjuring up images of a God of my own making (in my own image) and let God come in whatever ways God chooses. Like a friend who says, “Okay God, I look forward to seeing how you show up in my life today” each morning, I’m ready to be surprised.

I know God is right here, right not. I know God is as eager for a relationship as I. I’ve just been too busy searching.