Jesus was a fixture in my house when I was a young girl. My mom got saved when she became curious about the church that picked me up on a school bus every Sunday to take me to Sunday School and decided to check it out. Things don’t work that way anymore. You can’t just roll up into a neighborhood and tell kids to get on the bus to come to church. You’ll get arrested for doing that now. Come to think of it, I don’t know if I’ve had anyone but the Jehovah’s Witnesses come to my door to tell me about any God in the last 15 years. If you want to find Jesus in the Northeast, don’t look for Him to show up at your door anymore, I guess.
When my teens years crept up on me, I started running from God. Jesus became something that wasn’t cool anymore. I knew He was still there, I just didn’t like hanging out with Him as much. The church that took me to Sunday school ended up being a scam. My mom left the church, and it shuttered its doors soon after when the IRS started poking around. Jesus was a silent partner in my household after that. If I wanted to find Jesus, it would be up to me.
How Do People Find Jesus These Days?
The Internet creates a lot of ways to find God, but is it a good way to find Jesus? I am not sure. I’ve been studying the Bible for an awfully long time, so I know a bunch of malarky when I hear it. Some great motivational speakers use Jesus to sell their platform. It’s okay to listen to if you want to feel better about yourself, but you can’t find Jesus from Feel Good peddlers. There is never a shortage of itching ears in need of a scratch.
You can Google Him if you want to do some homework. You can find all kinds of things about Jesus if you put his name in a Google search. There will be Bible passages, blogs from theologians, along with some blogs from atheists who have nothing good to say about the idea of Jesus being God. You can also read a lot about people’s opinions about the history of Jesus, but will you find Jesus by doing searches on the Internet?
Then there is the local church. There are plenty of churches all over the United States. They come in every flavor of Christianity imaginable. Surely there is something for everyone. Contemporary services, casual services, traditional services, and even churches that hang out in parks like popup stores or farmers’ markets. Actually, I think the latter two are really cool. They are really bringing the church to the people.
The truth is, you can go to church every day for the rest of your life, but there is a big difference between going to church and being able to find Jesus. But that’s a whole other story…
How does one find Jesus then, if there are so many different challenges to finding Him? Is he really able to be found?
You Weren’t Lost Because Jesus Knew Where You Were
You might feel like you need to find Jesus, but he knows where you are. He never takes His eyes off of us, not even for a second. The story of the lost sheep is an excellent parable for how God feels about making sure we know He’s always looking out for His people.
Why do you feel lost if you are always where Jesus can find you? You only feel lost. When we wander away from God in our hearts, we start to do the things we know He says not to do. When we walk towards sin, we are getting farther from feeling God’s presence our lives, not far away from Him. Geographically speaking, nothing has changed. You just feel lost, but He is near you, watching over you, patiently waiting for you to realize you can’t feel Him anymore.
Oh, what joy for those who realized they wandered, only to turn around and start running back to Him! When that happens, something changes inside you. Returning to Jesus means finding the love He has always had for you. You’ll want everyone else to have it too. That’s what makes people want to tell everyone around them about Jesus!
God’s people are the best ways to help others find Jesus. People are going about their days, every day, feeling lost, without purpose, and searching for meaning in their lives. It’s up to us to tell them they don’t have to go in circles looking for answers anymore. Will you tell them?