Dear Faith Family, 

Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! (1 Chronicles 16:11). 

Twelve feet of trash bags.  Twenty tons of trash.  Two hours of searching.  Sanitation workers in New Hampshire this week received their third call in two years.  And the search began!  Any volunteers?  According to UPI, a lady’s wedding ring was accidentally thrown in the trash.  From there to the street.  From the street to a truck.  From a truck to the transfer station.  (Insert gasp here!) 

A couple of thoughts?  The intensity of our search is directly connected to the perceived value of the object of our search.  If we had a spare set of keys we might not be inclined to search for our missing keys.  They’ll show up, right?  A misplaced one-dollar bill may not receive any real search time.  A misplaced hundred-dollar bill may increase the intensity of our search.  You get the picture, right? 

A second thought.  The intensity of our search is often related to the search field.  Search an uncluttered search field?  Sure.  Search a small search field?  Sure.  Search a don’t have to get dirty search field?  Sure.  Search twelve feet of trash bags?  Not so sure.  Search twenty tons of trash?  Not so sure.  Search two hours of pungency?  Not so sure! 

Here's the thing.  We’re knocking on the door of the celebration of the birth of Christ.  Is it just me or is it increasingly difficult to find our God in the current search field?  Between Black Friday and Cyber Monday and traffic and travel and parties and….  The search field seems cluttered.  The search field seems messy.  The search field is at times pungent.  Interesting where our God in human flesh was found – in place where not too many were searching.  A few shepherds.  A few wisemen. 

The search can quickly be abandoned or overlooked.  But God is at work all up in that search field.  All we have to do is search.  That kind of begs a question.  Is He valuable enough to warrant a search?  

Ready to start digging?  Start with His Word.  Who is He?  What’s He up to?  Now start looking for His character and His work all around you.  Can you see His image in the people around you at home, at work, at school, on the highway?!  And what is He doing?  Like what opportunities is He giving to you to be salt and light.  Who can you encourage today?  How is He demonstrating His love for you?  One more question?  Are you the bag that contains the end of someone else’s search? 

Searching, 
Pastor Karl