What Are You Looking For?
“When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, ‘What are [you] looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi,’ (which translated means Teacher) ‘where are you staying?’”
— John [1:38]
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
Colonel Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, had a difficult life up to the age of sixty-five. He had countless jobs, was divorced, and had just received his first Social Security check of one hundred dollars. After a lifetime of failure, he tried one more business venture. He began traveling the back country to convince restaurant owners to buy his chicken recipes and his fryer. Many nights he slept in his car to meet the owners in the morning. Initially he received hundreds of rejections. Finally, a restaurant bought the fryer and the recipes, which led to other sales. Soon his business was earning him a thousand dollars a day. After only a few years he sold it for $2 million.
His pastor related, “He suddenly raised his head and looked at me and said that it was the first time in his life he had ever experienced the presence of Christ within his heart.”
Colonel Sanders had worked on the railroad, been a hired hand to a farmer, owned a hotel, and had many other jobs. At sixty-five, destitute, he asked God to help him with his business. For many years after he believed he was successful because of God. He gave to charity, tithed, attended church on a regular basis. But he still hadn’t fully grasped what he was looking for. There still was a void inside. At seventy-five, while attending church, he was asked to pray, to ask God to forgive him and take mercy on him. His pastor related, “He suddenly raised his head and looked at me and said that it was the first time in his life he had ever experienced the presence of Christ within his heart.”
“Like many of us, they wanted their hearts to be connected to God through Jesus.”
Jesus is walking on a road and is followed by two men. Sensing their presence, he turns and asks them, “What are you looking for?” It was the same thing Colonel Sanders was looking for. To be with Jesus and have Jesus in their hearts. They wanted to know Jesus, beyond just doing good. They wanted to know that they were forgiven and that Jesus would have mercy on them. They wanted to have the presence of Christ in their hearts. They wanted a deeper relationship than just knowing Christ existed and was good. Like many of us, they wanted their hearts to be connected to God through Jesus. They knew it was more than just doing good and working hard. It was a connection that creates a sense of finding what you are looking for.
One of Colonel Sanders’s famous quotes is “I lost half my vocabulary when I found Jesus, I had to stop cussing.”
One of Colonel Sanders’s famous quotes is “I lost half my vocabulary when I found Jesus, I had to stop cussing.” Matthew Henry called this experience “an awakened soul.” It is a communion between our souls and Christ. It is Christ who begins the conversation, by asking us, “What are you looking for?” When we hear this question in our inner castle, the process of fully accepting Jesus has begun. The conversation starts, and we begin the journey of leaving other thoughts behind. We begin to focus on answering this question. We search, we look, and eventually we discover we are looking for the presence of Jesus in our hearts.
Blessings, until next time,
Bruce L. Hartman
PARTING THOUGHTS
How do we feel Jesus?
What experiences of this have we had?
Have we found what we are looking for?
