What are you seeking?

“What are you seeking?”

That was the question Jesus asked two men who had just left John the Baptist, and were following Jesus from a distance.

At this point, these two men knew almost nothing about Jesus. All they knew was that John had pointed them to Jesus and said, “He is the one you must follow now.”

And so perhaps hesitantly at first, they started following after Jesus. It didn’t take long for Jesus to notice them, and so he turned to them and asked, “What are you seeking?”

They answered, “Teacher, where are you staying?”

Kind of a strange question, don’t you think? Not “Hi, my name is Andrew and this is my friend John, son of Zebedee. Nice to meet you.” But, “Teacher, where are you staying?”

What did he mean by that?

Probably he meant, “We want to be with you. We want to learn from you. We want to follow you. We want to be like you.”

And so Jesus answered, “Come, and you will see.”

How about you? Were Jesus to ask you, “What are you seeking,” how would you answer?

“I need healing.”

“I want a better life.”

Or would you say, “Jesus, I want to be where you are. I want to learn from you. I want to follow you. I want to be like you.” 

Certainly, Jesus wants a better life for you. He wants you to find healing.

But he doesn’t want you to stop there. He wants you to see beyond your own personal needs and desires.

He wants people who desire to be with him, to learn from him, to take on his values and be like him, and who ultimately join him in making a difference in this world. And in so doing, we find what life truly is about.

Life is not primarily about our own personal happiness and satisfaction.

Life is walking with Jesus and joining him in his work to touch a world that is dying. And it’s when we start doing those two things, that we truly find a life that is worth living.

How about you? What are you seeking?