The Lutheran Hour
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"Hide and Seek? No! Seek and Find"
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Text: Isaiah 55:6-7
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May the Grace of our Lord Jesus, the Love God the Father, and the Communion of the Holy Spirit, continue to seek you out and find you with His grace. Amen.
When we were kids, one of the games that we’d play was “Hide and Seek.” whoever was “it” counted to “10” and the rest of us found some place in the house or someplace in the yard where we could hide. The whole goal was to avoid being found. But, I have to admit, I enjoyed being the one who was it more than hiding because when you are the oldest in the family, it’s easy to find your younger brothers and cousins. You see, when they’re young, they don’t realize that sound travels. So, even when they would find the best hiding spot, all you had to do was listen for a few minutes and some hideaway revealing sound would soon come forth. The game for me then wasn’t “hide and seek”….it was “seek and find,” and it was a lot of fun.
Unfortunately for many people today who yearn to know God, it’s not “seek and find”, it’s more like “hide and still seeking.” For many, God seems to be the One hiding from plain sight. In many peoples’ minds, the God of the universe almost revels in “not being found.” With all the misery in the world, with all the gloom, it seems to imply that God is distant, even absent. They think, “Where is God when I really need Him?”
Isaiah says, “He’s right here, right now for you.” Seek the Lord while He may be found. Seek the Lord because He may be found.
For starters today, we need to make sure that we have our facts straight. From the Bible’s point of view, God is not the one that is lost; He’s not the one in the habit of unpredictably hiding so that people can’t find Him. I’ll never forget a conversation I had with a young graduate student who was intrigued about our church and the message of Christ that we proclaimed. After several months of spirited dialogue, he finally said to me one day, “Don’t worry, Pastor, I’ll keep seeking God.” I immediately responded, “That’s great, but don’t forget, God is the One coming after you.” That’s the point of the Bible. God is seeking to save the lost. And, in a text like ours today, when God challenges us to “Seek Him, He’s calling us to turn around to see that He has been there for you the whole time actively seeking to save us all like a shepherd seeking lost sheep.”
The Prophet Isaiah proclaims loudly and clearly for all to hear, “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to Yahweh, the Lord, and he will have mercy on Him….for He will freely pardon.”
What an incredible invitation, what an amazing “fact for faith,” not only is the God of the universe the “seeking God,” but He is also the findable Lord. Now my friends, that is truly unique. Isaiah helps you get your mind around this when he says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, Declares the Lord.”
The Bible is telling you incredibly that the Lord of the Universe is a God who desires to be known, who wants to have a meaningful, even eternal relationship with His people. He teaches us to pray, “Our Father,” as One Who can be known. He makes promises to this world, even as sinful as it is, promises that He faithfully keeps and has kept for generations. And Yahweh, the Lord, has most publically fulfilled those promises to all people when He sent His Son Jesus so that all could be saved.
He wants you to know Him as the One Who makes abundant life possible for you, now and forever. In fact, I think that our “Findable Lord” wants us to seek Him so that we can have the joy of finding Him and seeing the possibilities of new life that comes merely from knowing and trusting in Him alone.
Let me illustrate what I mean. One of my mentors, Dr. Norman Nagel, is a brilliant man, a man who can speak and read in several different languages, a person who is incredibly well read, a person who is well respected by students, professors, and parishioners alike. One summer, early in my ministry, I received word that he would be coming to visit me and my family at our modest apartment in Dallas, Texas. I was anxious to see him, but I was also a bit nervous for obvious reasons. My wife picked him up from the airport and brought him to our house. I finished my work at church and then I raced home to entertain our honored guest. When I got home, I came into the apartment, but Dr. Nagel was nowhere to be found. I asked Yvette, “Where is he,” and she informed me that this highly regarded genius of a professor was playing “hide and seek” with my one-year-old daughter, Devin. When I finally found him, he was hiding behind her bedroom door and he asked me to be very quiet so that she could have the joy of finding him.
Now most guests of such stature would have ended the game once they were “discovered to be playing with the children,” but Dr. Nagel would have none of that. He didn’t want to steal the joy of Devin finding him once again. Evidently, she would laugh and giggle when she would invariably uncover him from his hiding spot. But that hiding spot wasn’t much of a hiding spot, In fact, he seemed to put himself in places where she was sure to look. He wasn’t going to stop until she had the opportunity, the joy of finding him one more time. That day, in my home, I learned a little bit what God Himself was like because I saw it exemplified in the life of one His precious disciples.
God isn’t the one hiding, seeking not to be found, but that doesn’t mean that He comes in ways of our choosing either. In fact, God comes with amazing mercy, but He also delivers on His gracious terms alone. He comes calling us to repentance and faith. He comes with the power of life and salvation but as a servant. He comes humbly, graciously so that we can not only find Him; we can also receive Him as our Lord and Savior, for our very life and salvation. Isaiah the prophet reminds the people of Israel that they were chosen to be a “witnesses,” to “summon the nations” so that all might know and believe in the salvation that only God Himself could affect and provide. God chooses the least, the nobodies of this world to reveal a mercy and pardon that’s “out of this world” for all.
So if God isn’t hiding this grace, and if this grace and mercy are for all, why do so many treat it as if it doesn’t exist or can’t be found. Now Isaiah doesn’t really address that issue particularly in this text. His emphasis is to urgently call us all to turn to God now and to receive Him no matter what the reason. But, it is safe to say that many people today miss out on the joys of knowing the grace of God in Jesus because they are too busying, too pre-occupied with other things, scurrying madly from one thing to another. It is said that modern people are a hurrying and worrying type of people, that we are harried and harassed, people as well, not knowing where we are going, but intent on getting there fast. But such madness merely reveals the foolishness of sin and the continued damage done by foolish choices made out of our resources alone and not God’s. Many continue to value what is valueless and to literally dismiss what is priceless when it is fully within our grasp.
I recently hear about an article by Jill Carattini where she told this story: “A nurse named Melanie was on her way to work when something in the trash bin caught her eye. She was immediately taken with the possibilities in this discarded treasure. It was a cello, slightly cracked in several places, but nonetheless a discard of character, a piece charming to the eye. Her boyfriend, who is a cabinetmaker, also saw the cello’s potential. Together they thought it could be turned into a beautifully distinctive CD holder. The discarded cello was indeed old and it had been abandoned, though authorities are not sure why or how it ended up in the trash that day. But a most shocking revelation to the nurse (and arguably to the thief as well) was the fact that it was not merely an old cello. It is one of only 60 like it in the world made by master craftsman Antonio Stradivari in 1684. The 320-year-old masterpiece, valued at 3.5 million dollars, was stolen from a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra just weeks before it sat rescued in Melanie’s apartment with dreams of becoming a CD holder.
In the music world ‘Stradivarius’ is an untouchable description. Neither scientist nor musician understand the difference between the ‘voice’ of a Stradivarius versus the voice of modern violin or cello, but the distinction is real – and costly. They are the most sought after musical instruments in the world, works of art in their own right, coveted by collectors and players alike. To be in the presence of a Stradivarius is to be in the presence of something great – whether it is recognized or not.
The thief put it on the trash pile, and even Melanie did not see the splendor of what she was holding. People hear about the incredible grace of God in Jesus Christ, the eternal debt of sin repaid, the guilt of sin removed, and the reality of new life possible, now and forever and they throw it in the garbage can and they move on. Wake up, turn around, the Findable God with His priceless mercy is inviting to you to seek and to find Him as the center of your life and salvation, now, today, forever. Seek and find the Lord Who can it wait to see the joy on your face when you do!
So, by the power of God’s Holy Spirit, in the Joy of the Lord Who loves to be found….seek and find Him today.
Because He wants to bless you. God is not the One Who spoils our parties, we are. In fact, He is the One Who wants to bring back to us blessing, abundant life, and salvation, where there is only sin and sorrow. Isaiah speaks about the rain and snow generally blessing the land, bringing forth seeds for the sower and bread for the eater. Jesus speaks about the ethics of life in God’s Kingdom the same way, when He says, (Matthew 5)
“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,[a] 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
God’s desire is to bless and to provide for those whom He has created and redeemed. And though He provides for the general care of His creation, the ultimate grace of God in the Scripture, is one that is particular and powerful, full of pardon and peace to those who trust and believe in Him. Such pardon for all is poured out because sin is confronted, guilt has been removed, and life has been restored for you and for me by Him alone. That’s why the call is so urgent, so vital to you and me now.
Now is the time…like a party that you shouldn’t miss, like a celebration that has meticulously been planned and provided for you by the best, the invitation is for you to accept today. All is now ready for you.
Just think about what God wants you to “find” when you find Him. Isaiah has already spoken of a Suffering Servant, Who would take on the full weight of humanity’s sin and reproach and bring healing by His willingness to make our suffering His own.. Earlier in this chapter, Isaiah begins with the Lord’s invitation to enjoy the banquet He has prepared. Here, there is refreshment for the thirsty, there is fullness for the hungry, there is abundance for those who have no way to repay for its bounty. God Himself wants you to find His healing, His thirst-quenching joy, His free gift of grace. The table has been set, the party is ready, and the invitation is yours to respond to today.
So, by the power of God’s Holy Spirit, in the Joy of the Finable Lord… Seek and find Him today because there is pardon and mercy awaiting those who do.
There are always people who think that the party was meant for somebody else, and not for them. Even religious people think like this today. We have created this idea that God is only interested in certain folks and we have a long list of criteria as to who those people are. Again, God’s ways are not our ways, His thoughts not ours…He blesses those who actually know they are inadequate and undeserving. His invitation to seek and find is one full of pardon and mercy to those who truly know that whatever God provides for them, it is purely out of His free gift of grace.
Isaiah calls all people to repent. But even such repentance is turning and seeing what is already available to you by the Lord’s work on your behalf. To Seek Him is to turn away from evil. Repentance, then, is not a morbid activity designed to steal the joy of life. Repentance is to turn from the sin and guilt that is destroying your life and to receive the grace and pardon that can make your life new again!
The Bible says in I Corinthians 2:9-10, “However, as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’– but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit” Yes, God’s ways are not our ways, and that is infinitely better for us. You can’t even believe what life is and will be for you in Jesus Christ. Isaiah promises that.
So, by the power of God’s Holy Spirit, in the Joy of the Finable Lord… Seek and find Him today because there is pardon and mercy beyond your imagination, but one that you can receive and grow in for the rest of your life.
And finally, by the power of God’s Holy Spirit, in the Joy of the Finable Lord… Seek and find Him today because He wants to give you a life that you can only have in Him.
Sometimes the promises of God’s abundant life “in this life,” sound too good to be true. But abundant life, graced and resourced by Him, this is what God desires for those who put their trust in Him. Knowing God’s mercy and pardon is like having the fresh water of salvation amidst the aridness of this sinful world.
A story is told of a shipwrecked crew who had been drifting for days in a small boat off the coast of Brazil. They were suffering the horrors of thirst but they dare not drink the seawater because the salt water would make it even worse. They saw a vessel coming towards them, and they called out, “Water, water!” But they were told, “Dip your bucket over the side.” They thought they were being mocked. But no, the water was fresh. They had drifted into the flow of the mighty Amazon River bearing fresh water far out to sea.
Did they find the fresh water or did the fresh water find them? Well, the water flowed to where they were and they finally realized it, drank it, and were refreshed. Likewise, seek Him. He’s near. The Living Water of God’s grace is here for you and for me as well.
Today’s the day. Now is the time to seek the salvation that has been laid out for you.
Isaiah declares boldly, “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call on Him while He is near. Jesus echoes this call when he says, “…seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as well.” There He is, God in the flesh, making the invitation to us, finishing all the preparations for God’s Mercy and Pardon to be poured out on the world, coming now to us in words we can hear, water that we can receive and bread and wine to deliver the very bread from heaven for our salvation.
A Findable Lord, a Gracious God, an invitation to all. Seek and find, you’ll be blessed if you do. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for September 18, 2011
Topic: Labor DayANNOUNCER: Now, Pastor Gregory Seltz responds to questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer. Today a listener wants to talk about a recent celebration that was held here in America, “Labor Day.” Our listener wants to know if the Bible says anything at all about “the godliness of Labor” and what about celebrations like “Labor Day.”
SELTZ: Well since our listener asks the question in two parts, how about we answer it in two parts as well, Mark?
ANNOUNCER: Sound good.
SELTZ: The Bible, first of all, does talk about work; labor, as a blessing from God.
ANNOUNCER: So, then, we weren’t created to take a permanent vacation?
SELTZ: That’s right, leisure is a blessing, but so is work. Remember, Adam and Eve would have worked even in the perfect Garden of Eden. And one Epistle in the New Testament, Thessalonians, was written to people who were refusing to work because they were convinced that Jesus was returning for the final judgment, immediately.
ANNOUNCER: And, as I recall, St. Paul warned them they needed to get back to work as they waited for the Lord’s return.
SELTZ: He sure did. So, work is an important part of life as human beings, especially as Christians. You might say that when we’re hard at work, we are glorifying God by using the talents that He has given us, and when we are doing that work, we’re also resourcing our love for our neighbor, as we earn money and wealth to share with others.
ANNOUNCER: But, keep in mind, labor and work has to be part of a balanced life, right?
SELTZ: Correct. So, while work is an important thing, it’s not the most important thing in life. In fact the Sabbath Day celebration is a reminder that our relationship to God is the most important thing of all. Even our work and our labor are only meaningful in a healthy relationship to God and to one another.
ANNOUNCER: So, it sounds like work and labor can be a really wonderful thing!
SELTZ: Well, it sure was meant to be. But this thing called sin has infected and skewed work as well. Now it’s more of a daily grind. Work was supposed to be a way to earn things with our hands, so that we would have the resources to give one another in service. But as sinners we tend to turn this stuff all around.
ANNOUNCER: How so?
SELTZ: Well, instead of working to glorify God and to serve others, many today selfishly work only for themselves. Sinful selfishness can cause hard working career folks to neglect their spouse and family. It can tempt folks in business to treat a competitor ruthlessly or a customer unfairly. Or it might even convince someone that they don’t have to work at all, neglecting life’s most basic responsibility of caring for yourself as an adult and caring for those whom God has entrusted to you. So, sin skews the blessing of work.
ANNOUNCER: But, does the Bible talk then about ways to overcome the influence that sin has on the blessing of work.
SELTZ: Absolutely, repentance and faith, they literally re-orient the Christian to see the blessing of work and the challenge of work anew from God’s point of view. To be a blessing then, to be faithful in our jobs, this is giving God glory. And to put our hard-earned resources to work, that blesses our neighbor just as well.
ANNOUNCER: So what about recapturing, then, a healthier view of work in the community? How could Christians influence society for good in this area?
SELTZ: Well, now I think we’re talking about the Labor Day celebration question… Celebrating Labor Day has some of these “labor is a blessing” emphases, but you’ve got to be careful, too. It also has some political overtones as well.
ANNOUNCER: Is that a good thing?
SELTZ: Well, let me just say this; negotiating the value of our labor in a sinful world, the folks behind Labor Day, had a particular view on how to do that fairly. This is where discussions of economic systems come into play, things like capitalism, socialism, communism, etc.
ANNOUNCER: We need to be careful in that discussion, don’t we?
SELTZ: Very much so. The Bible doesn’t advocate a certain economic system. Here, I think God wants us to use our sanctified, morally instructed common sense. This discussion can get a bit messy because we’re talking about a system of labor, or rules for fair trade in a community of workers who are sinful by nature, with all kinds of motivations for work.
ANNOUNCER: So, then, we can celebrate labor and the fact that it’s a blessing from God, even as we continue to work out all of the details in terms of freedom and fairness as citizens who live and work together in communities.
SELTZ: Well said, Mark. And Christians need to remember too, that all of our “Labor for the Lord,” is never in vain.
ANNOUNCER: And, it’s also good to remember that work and leisure are gifts from God that bless us and others in His Name. Thank you Pastor Seltz, this has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music Selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by Chris Bergmann. Used by permission.
“O Jesus, King Most Wonderful” arr. Henry Gerike. Used by permission.
“Seek Where You May to Find a Way” From The Concordia Organist (© 2009 Concordia Publishing House/SESAC)
“Trumpet Tune in D” by David N. Johnson, performed by Andrew Bruhn & Michael Costello. Augsburg/Fortress-SESAC