What the Bible says about Seeking
(From Forerunner Commentary)
Ask means requesting something of another, often a superior. Seek means to endeavor to find a thing, to try to gain it, to strive after it with earnestness and zeal. Knock is a request for admission when the way is closed.
Jesus is telling us here that, when we are searching for an answer or a solution to a problem, we should actively expend effort to resolve the difficulty. He presents three different forms of seeking things, and each pictures different intensities of effort:
- Asking for what is wanted. This often requires humility.
- Seeking diligently for it. Sincerity and drive are key here.
- Knocking on doors to gain entrance. This means being persistent, persevering and occasionally ingenious.
This process signifies that if we want answers, we must seek them with earnestness, diligence, and perseverance, or put another way, that we seek them with a proper attitude of humility, sincerity, and persistence. It also implies that we ask for things that are consistent with God's will to give us. Such things would be those He has promised to give, that are good for us, and that bring honor and glory to Him.
John O. Reid
Ask, Seek, KnockRelated Topics: Ask, Seek, and Knock | Earnestness | Humility | Knock at the Door | Knocking as Metaphor | Persistence | Seeking
What kind of message does it send to God if His children, those called by His name, either do not seek truth or carelessly ignore what they have? Perhaps it would be good for us to think of it like this: He is Truth personified. Therefore, to ignore truth is to ignore Him and, by extension, to ignore salvation. Remember, salvation is the active, continuous process by which God delivers us from what causes disease in the mental and physical areas of life and eternal death in the spiritual. Is it really worthwhile to ignore truth?
Truth does not come to us all at once. It gradually accumulates in those who ask, seek, and knock for it, then use it in their own lives to glorify God. We do not always easily find it. Sometimes truth emerges only after a long and confusing search that is constantly impeded by conflicting information. Nevertheless, we must persevere!
John W. Ritenbaugh
Eating: How Good It Is! (Part Six)
Can we seek without doing something? If we are not seeking, it brings to mind someone whose shoes are nailed to the floor. If we are seeking in terms of research, we will be digging into a book or many books. That is doing something.
If we are seeking where a problem might lie in our lives, we will be examining: "When did I first notice this problem? Under what circumstances does it arise? Where did it likely come from? Is it a part of my environment? Did it originate with my upbringing? Do my work colleagues bring it out or make it worse? What inspires the thoughts that make me do this?" We are not just doing nothing! We are searching out! We are seeking.
Then we should be looking into God's Word to find out what He says we should do! On top of this, we must begin to look at our own lives, asking ourselves, "Because this is the pattern of my life, what can I do to avoid this problem in the first place?" We are actively pursuing a way to do what is right.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Titus 2:11-14Related Topics: Examining | Searching | Searching Out | Seeking | Seeking God | Seeking God's Counsel | Seeking God's Righteousness | Seeking Good