Mar 9, 2010
Are We Seeking Jesus or the Results of Being with Jesus?
It’s possible to search for the cure without seeking out the source of the remedy. It’s possible to crave something good while missing the one way to receive it.
I used to read the following passage as a lesson in loving the Bible more than God, but there’s something deeper going on. Have a look:
You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. John 5:39-40
Jesus told the Jewish leaders that they were not only fixated on the Bible, but on finding life in the Bible. While their devotion to the Bible instead of God was problematic, there’s something even more problematic. They searched the scriptures seeking everlasting life without seeking Jesus, the source of that life.
They had a good goal, but they failed to pursue the correct means. They could study the scriptures, but their quest for eternal life would fall short unless the scriptures pointed them to Jesus.
It is a good thing to seek eternal life, whether that’s freedom from sin today or the hope of an eternity with God. However, by seeking eternal life, personal holiness, or studying scripture in and of itself, we will fall short.
It’s not good to crave holiness or eternal life without craving to be with Jesus above either goal. Even these good goals can cloud our relationship with him.
In seeking Jesus first we will find the life of holiness and the relationship with God that we desire. Seeking life in the scriptures will not give us what we crave. The scriptures point us to Jesus, and until we desire Jesus above everything else, we’ll never know the fullness of the life he gives.
