What Seek Ye?

Scripture Passage for Today: John 1:35-42

Then Jesus turned and saw them following, and saith unto them, "What seek ye?" They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master) where dwellest thou?

"What seek ye?" was the first question Jesus had for the two men who began to follow him that day. He turned around, and I can just imagine what the scene may have looked like. Jesus was possibly a bit intimidating in his directness with these would-be disciples, even a bit short possibly. Saying that, I know that if Jesus was terse, intimidating or firmly direct then there was a perfect and justifiable reason for it.

It's just like our Lord, isn't it? He goes straight to the motives; straight to the heart of the matter. And when he does, it rocks us a bit; it shakes us up. Sometimes, the questions of Jesus ruffle our religious feathers and make us want to puff up like a peacock! Yet, he still goes to the heart. "What seek ye?" In other words, "Why are you following me? What are you looking for exactly?"

I believe that Jesus has never ceased to ask this question of those of us who have chosen to "follow" him. Why have we chosen to follow? What is our motivation for wanting to be a disciple of Jesus? Jesus' question invites us to examine our heart's motive from the very first moment. It is better to search out the reason we follow early on in our Christian life rather than waking up one day and discovering that we were just wanderers on a path forged by Jesus, yet we were not truly "following" closely after him.

Were we born in a "Christian" family? Did we cut our teeth on the pews in church? Do we follow Jesus because we are "expected" to? Do we seek him for some kind of recognition from men? Do we seek him as a self-help motivational speaker for our personal life? Is he part of our overall self-esteem, healthy balanced living? Do we follow him because it's a cool fad and all our friends are giving their hearts to the Lord? Do we seek prosperity in this life, and do we think accepting Jesus is our ticket to wealth? Do we follow him because we simply don't wish to go to hell? Therefore, maybe we have said the words, "I believe in Jesus as my Savior" yet we have never once truly given him our heart and our complete surrender?

Friend, what seek ye? I asked myself this question as I read the passage. A movie came to mind as my answer was forming in my spirit. The movie was Robin Hood starring Kevin Costner. The scene was set at the beginning of the movie when Robin Hood was stuck in a dungeon with many other outlaws. He of course breaks free of the chains, begins body slamming, hacking off limbs and sword-fighting. In the meantime, he looks back and releases as many prisoners as he can. He releases a particular African man who then proceeds to follow him out of the city. When Robin tells the man that he is going to go his separate way, the burly African emphatically claims that he is now Robin's servant. Robin protests, but the man insists. He explains that where he comes from, the custom is that if someone saves your life, you are indebted to them until you save theirs. You become their slave or servant.

Do you see where I am going with this? The reason I follow Jesus is that He has saved my life and I am indebted to my Savior. I am not just bound by a duty, I am persuaded by a love which He has given to me, a love for God, a love for His Word, and a love for my neighbors. I am now bought with a price and am not my own. This should be our core reason for following and serving our Master. He has saved our lives, literally, for eternity. We owe him all we have and all we are.

Lord Jesus, I pray in your name today that we will search and examine our hearts based upon your most important question, "What seek ye?" I pray that we will follow you with a pure heart, a pure motive, that we will love you for who you are, that we will believe in you with all our hearts and have a personal relationship with you. In Jesus name I ask you, Amen.