on the hunt

I just read a blog post that seems to have been meant just for me. It was so encouraging.

So often I think that I have to be perfect. I have to understand everything now. I have to be like everyone else. If I can do all those things, then perhaps one day I will finally "arrive." I was talking to Terry about this last night and we agreed that God loves us right where we are. And yet I was/am so discouraged about not understanding God's love for me and what He truly thinks of me. Why can't I get everything now?

And then I read this from here:

An Adult Easter Egg Hunt

I did something last Sunday that I've never done before. When my adult children were here for dinner, we had two Easter Egg Hunts. The last one was for our grandchildren, but the first one was for our adult children. That's right, my adult kids participated in an Easter Egg Hunt their mother and I had planned. The odd thing was that I only hid one egg for them to find. How do you motivate a group of adults in their thirties to search the yard for an Easter egg? That's easy. Put enough money in a plastic egg and they'll scramble like preschoolers!

It was fun for me because I knew that whoever found the egg would be thrilled. I hid it in the flower bed up against the house, right under the water hose. They all began the search at the same time. They were looking in the Junipers, under flower pots, in the grill, in the birdhouses, everywhere. Everybody was laughing and having a great time. I especially enjoyed it.

After 10 minutes passed and nobody had found it, I told them I would give them a clue: "So you won't have to look all night; The egg is in my line of sight." Now they knew they didn't need to go back into the side yard out of my sight. So now they looked right in sight of where I sat on the patio.

Another 10 minutes passed. I gave a second clue: "You may think you'll find it but you can't; if you think it's hidden in a plant." Off the hillside they all came. No more looking among the Junipers or potted plants on the patio. My clue drew them all in closer to where Melanie and I sat. We both laughed as different ones came so very close to finding it at times, only to pass right over it.

Finally, I gave the final clue: "This is a clue that's really sweet; I could walk to the egg in fifteen feet." Now they circled around us, acting like forensic investigators trying to find that one hidden thing.

At last, Cliff, my son-in-law began to go alongside the house pulling up pine straw and then... there is was! We all laughed and congratulated him on his discovery. It brought me great pleasure to see him find it.

That Easter Egg Hunt reminds me of our spiritual adventure in the grace walk. We don't know everything. There are new and surprising truths that await our discovery. Our Father takes great joy in watching us as we search the Scripture and scour the terrain of life in Him in search of a greater knowledge of who He is to us and in us and who we are to Him and in Him.

It takes time and effort, like looking for the prize egg on Easter. Growing in grace isn't instant. It's a process, but if we know His heart, we can enjoy the search. We know that, just like I knew I would personally see to it that one of my family, found the prize egg, our Father will certainly see that we find the "prize" He wants us to discover.

I could have just handed one of the kids the money, but it would have robbed them of the joy of the search and I would have forfeited the pleasure of watching in knowing anticipation of what somebody was about to find. The process of grappling with truth is a pleasure to us and for Him too when we know that He takes pleasure in giving us revelation of Himself.

Sometimes people mistake grappling with truth for confusion. Somebody recently asked me, "Why do you write these things that leave questions in some people's minds?" I responded, "Because questions are a good thing. In fact, more problems come when we have more answers than questions than the other way around." Our Father takes delight in our questions and in our search to discover all that He has hidden in Christ for us. A question is nothing less than a spiritual thirst that He loves to satisfy.

My children didn't express frustration that they were confused as they searched for the egg. They knew that I would see to it that they would find it if they kept looking! That gave pleasure to all of us!

So it is with your Father. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't believe anybody who tries to convince you that reevaluating what you think you've known or that not having a definitive answer for every question is the same as confusion. Immaturity causes us to want to have simple answers for everything, but adults know that life doesn't work that way. It's okay to not have answers and it's okay to search, to reconsider the answers you've been given in the past and to ask them anew, trusting your Father to ensure that, however many "clues" it takes, He will lead you toward "the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

Our Father has prize eggs of revelation for all of us. It's not a matter of self-effort when we search. Divine truth does come by revelation but our Father is fun-loving and takes pleasure in watching us wantHim and takes pleasure in leading us toward all that He has set aside for us.