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"Helpers of your joy."
#10.
On seeking the Lord.
pp. 28 - 31
Among the many and varied exhortations that we find in the Scriptures addressed to
the believer, and influencing his joy and peace, is the exhortation to seek the Lord, His
face and His way. Before we look at some of these exhortations, it seems fitting that we
should recognize in the Lord Himself the greatest Seeker of all. We should most
certainly never seek the Lord unless He had already sought us. This may be proved by a
comparison of two passages. In Acts 17: the apostle tells the Athenian some simple
facts that pertain to all men, quite apart from grace or revelation:--
"God that made the world . . . . . hath made of one blood all nations of men for to
dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the
bounds of their habitation, that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after
Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us" (Acts 17: 24-27).
What light this throws upon such everyday matters as History--"the times appointed",
and Geography--"the bounds of their habitation", to which might be added "rain from
heaven, and fruitful seasons" (Acts 14: 17), that constituted God's own witness among
the heathen. Nevertheless it is written:--
"There is none that seeketh after God" (Rom. 3: 11).
If, therefore, man is ever going to seek the Lord, the Lord must first of all seek man,
for this ingratitude, blindness and indifference is the result of sin, and needs salvation.
Among the many and beautiful figures that the Lord has used to reveal His love,
His grace, His condescension and His patience toward His erring children, that of the
Seeker stands out as one particularly gracious, especially when we consider Who it is that
seeks and who are those sought. Let us hear the Lord Himself as He utters this word of
pity and of grace:--
"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19: 10).
First of all we note the Seeker. He is "The Son of man". It is not our intention to
enter into a lengthy disquisition upon this blessed title: that would take us too far afield
for our immediate purpose. Enough that the title was not given by men to Christ. It was
used by Himself. Its first occurrence in Matt. 8: 20 suggests something of its
intention. That the Son of man had not where to lay His head suggests a very real
association of the Lord Jesus with man in his present state. He Who was the Son of man
is called in the self-same Gospel: "The Son of God", and in Matt. 1: 23: "they shall call
His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." The Seeker was none
other than "God manifest in the flesh", and revealed the heart of the Father as no other
manifestation could have done.