Recently my wife and I have been preparing to sell our house as part of our leap towards a new exciting unknown future. More of that another day. Part of this process is to clear out what we have not used for years, and are unlikely to use in the future. This has led to hours of me staring at piles of stuff. Odd shaped pieces of metal which my wife, and some friends, have looked at and declared ‘What is it or where did that come from?’
I have perfect recollection of where my precious oddities came from. Leftovers from the kitchen I fitted or extra parts from when I fitted a new bathroom. That S shaped thing with holes in was from a repair kit used to fix the central heating. One day one of these useful items will be the perfect solution to a yet undiscovered problem. But for now they are orphans in my may-come-in-handy stock – aka the bits bucket. I have parted with much but there are some things, though infrequently used, that are too good to be tossed away. No doubt I’ll keep too much till the next big clear out or that job for which they will become what I will know is the very ‘thing needed’.. If I can find them!
That is it with holding on to stuff. Will we know where it is when we need it – that S shaped thing with the holes in? Suppose we have willing helpers in the search for that special just right for the job thingy. How will we describe what we are looking for? This is an age old problem. I can hear the voice of many friends who have sought help to locate a certain hard to describe tool or part, they say ‘I’ll know what it is when I see it’.
In our search to find God we can struggle to describe what we mean and often our friends struggle to articulate their own understanding. Of course the Bible is full of description and detail. Theologians tell us God is revealed in the stories of life the shape of the stars and power of the mountains. They also offer complex thoughts and philosophical ideas. But such descriptions are invariable hindsight, after the event or discovery as it were. I sometimes read portions of the book of Revelation and wish I could have seen what John saw rather than what he says he saw – it might make more sense to me!
In recent years I have come to appreciate the challenge that many have when seeking God. Our counsel or personal description of how we came to encounter God can at times not help. I picture my own search through that bucket of odd bits and a helpful friend saying what are we looking for, my answer ‘I’ll know when I find it’! All anyone can do is continue to faithfully hold objects up and say ‘Is this it?’ Eventually we might hear ‘Yes, that is what I have been searching for!’
There is the great story in the bible of Philip who stood by a road side and said to the passing noble man as he read Isaiah ‘do you understand what you are reading?’ I have this image of Philip and the Ethiopian pulling bits out of the book of Isaiah – is this it? No! Is this it? Not quite but close! Is this it? Yes, that is what I have been looking for…!
Is it possible that those of us who search for God will know when we find Him and is it not of great help to have friends join in the search even when their offering is not quite making sense. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: Jesus says
Rob Wykes 