My Commonplace Book
Dec. 19, 2005
WISE MEN STILL SEEK HIM by John Fischer

I especially like the part about how Jesus let things out a little bit at a time by speaking in parables.  (See last paragraph.)  I want to remember this when we go "home" for Christmas this year and see unsaved loved ones.



Wise Men Still Seek Him
by John Fischer


It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.
(Proverbs 25:2 NIV)

    I normally don't like bumper stickers because they so often trivialize the message, but one exception stands out. It used to show up around Christmas time, though I haven't seen it for a while. It is the simple but profound assertion: WISE MEN STILL SEEK HIM.


    I like this because it says at least two things. 1) Those who seek God are wise. God affirms the dignity of the searcher and the search. The fact that God has set it up this way - has concealed His matters and invited us to search for Him - confirms our nobility. It says we have enough smarts to look for Him and recognize Him when we find Him. In fact, the proverb puts the searcher in the realm of kings. It's a noble task to seek after God.

    2) Those who seek God are given the benefit of the doubt, that if they seek Him, they will find Him. This is actually a promise in scripture: "He rewards those who earnestly seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6 NIV). This is why those of us who already know Him don't have to jump all over those who are seeking when they get something wrong or don't put it in exactly the right words. If they are truly seeking, they will find Him, and it will be God who opens their eyes anyway. We need to respect the search of those we know who are seeking and not get impatient with them or think of them as stupid for not seeing what we see. When it's time, they will.


    This may mean you might have to bite your tongue a little bit and not say everything you know all the time. Better to listen for those parts of the truth the seeker has already found and affirm them. Jesus didn't spill all the beans as soon as He started preaching. He let a little bit out at a time. He talked in code (parables). He asked a lot of questions. He protected the search. He didn't give what was sacred to dogs or throw out pearls to pigs. He always said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear,"  and then He went on to not say everything. He made them hang on His words and come back for more. All of this protects not only the dignity of the search and the searcher, but also the dignity of the truth.


    It really should be this way; otherwise we could just put it all on a bumper sticker.



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Commonplace books are a means of coping with information overload! They help us select, organize, classify, and remember key moral precepts. "When it came time to put away childish things, the role of the copy book was assumed by its close cousin, the "commonplace book." The process of maturation required the production of more-personal collections of writings, meant to provide inspiration, direction, and moral fortitude. Reading the commonplace books of historical figures like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, or any number of antebellum Southern ladies gives us an interior view of each person's self-image and the words that motivated him or her. -- Rachel Toor "Commonplaces: From Quote Books to 'Sig' Files" The Chronicle of Higher Education May 25, 2001"

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