More than a feeling

Some people have an idea of religion based on experiences. They attended a service somewhere and felt some emotional rush. It may have been the powerful speaker or the upbeat music. It may have been the high ceilings or the beautiful stained glass windows. They go back again and again hoping to have a similar or even better experience. Are you this person? Have you ever been there? I sure have.

I can remember a time in my journey when my seeking after God amounted to no more than seeking some exhilerating emotional high. It was like going to the dope man over and over again after getting my first hit free. I knew God was there, so why wasn't I getting that felling? Other people were so it must be my fault somehow. I figured that I needed to pray more, study scripture more, have more faith, fast more, obey more, do more, and work more. I couldn't do enough. All I wanted was just one more hit like the first. Maybe the reason the first hit was so good was because it was free, but that never occurred to me. I was too busy trying to get another and another and another.

That was a long time ago. Since then I have stopped searching for a feeling. Now I'm searching for truth and signs of life. Basically I'm searching for Christ and I'm finding him in everything. Wouldn't you know it? The feeling comes with it. The feeling of delight in knowing that I am his and he is mine. The feeling of peace knowing he is in control. The feeling of awe because he is so wonderfully glorious. The feeling of love for him and for my fellow man.

Christ is more than a feeling. He is a person who embodies truth. I've found that the feelings come more from the revelation of deep truths than they do from the makeup of my environment and those revelations come from the most unexpected places. If you're looking for a feeling, don't look at the high ceilings and stained glass. Don't depend on any one place or one person. Christ is all in all. You can find him in a simple song on your Ipod, the beauty of a flower, the love of a relationship, the forgiveness of a friend, the cries of a baby, the majesty of a mountain, the expanse of the ocean, and the truths of language.

What we seek as a feeling is really a yearning for Jesus and all too often we are prone to make Him much smaller and more confined than He actually is.

Where have you seen Christ recently?