You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. John 5:39
Luke chapter 4 tells about Jesus reading from the prophet Isaiah at the synagogue meeting. Some versions say he opened the book; others say he opened or unrolled the scroll. Then it says, “he found the place where it was written…” Until recently I had never thought about the difficulty of trying to find a specific passage in a scroll. The book of Isaiah is pretty long. I wonder if scrolls had any kind of notations or markers to help people find things.
In our children’s Bible classes we encourage kids to learn how to find specific scriptures using the guide words at the top of the page. Sometimes we even have “Bible races” to see who can find a passage first. I wonder if boys who went to school at synagogue in ancient times ever had “scroll races”?!
With a bit of effort we can get good at finding things in our Bibles quickly. After all, Jesus did say, “seek and you will find,” (Luke 11:9). Of course, taken in context, Jesus was saying that we can count on God to answer our prayers. But “seek and you will find” is a truism that can apply to a lot of things. Often, whatever we are seeking is exactly what we will find, especially when looking in the Bible.
If we are seeking to justify ourselves or to prove a point, we will probably be able to find some verse somewhere that would seem to do the job. If we’re looking for passages that seem to uphold our modern values and confirm our modern sensitivities, we can find that too.
But what if we are looking for truth? What will we find then? If we’re looking for truth, we’ve got to look at all of what the Bible says and we have to seek to understand it as intended. And if we do that we’re likely to find things that make us uncomfortable, things we don’t want to hear, and even things that we just plain disagree with.
When we find ourselves in that uncomfortable position, we have three choices:
- we can reject God’s word and Christianity outright;
- we can accept the parts we like and say the rest was just someone’s old-fashioned opinion;
- or we can accept it as truth and keep studying to gain understanding.
The problem with the first two options is that they don’t lead us to truth. Rather, they place us back in the position of seeking to validate our own feelings and opinions. The problem with the third option is that it’s usually much more difficult.
Seeking and finding truth requires more than just spending a few minutes with a concordance or going to church and listening to a sermon every week. Truth-seeking as the Bereans did it was a daily endeavor and required intellectual honesty.
The people there were more open-minded than the people in Thessalonica. They listened to the message with great eagerness, and every day they studied the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was really true. Acts 17:11 GNT
Even though Jesus said, “seek and you will find,” it is possible to search the scriptures and not find eternal life.
You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. John 5:39-40
It is possible to seek to enter the kingdom and not be able to.
Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. Luke 13:24
It all depends on what, at the heart level, a person is actually seeking.
I would think it’s much easier to find the passage you’re looking for in a book than in a scroll. But no matter how good we get at finding things in our Bibles, if we aren’t honestly searching for truth, we’re not likely to find it.
When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth? Luke 18:8
Heavenly Father, we know that Jesus said, “Your word is truth,” but Satan plants so many doubts in our minds and often we have so much pride in our hearts. Please send Your holy angels to fight for our hearts and minds, that we might desire, seek, and find our way to You through Jesus Christ who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. In His name, Amen.
by Christie Cole Atkins
Related Reading:
Walk Worthy 