Chaplain’s Corner: Blessed are the Seekers

Nothing feels better than being certain about something. In our day-to-day lives we are always looking for “clear cut” and “sure things.” It makes sense then that we would seek the same things in our spiritual lives. To our chagrin, certainty is elusive in the realm of the spiritual. Sometimes our pursuit of certainty gets us into trouble. We use it as a measure of achievement, either feeling guilty about not reaching a certain level of it, or feeling judgmental over those with reservations or doubts.

There were certainly people in Jesus’ day who were certain about their faith, but those weren’t the ones Jesus called to walk alongside him. The disciples were all over the place, sometimes boldly confessing Jesus as Lord, and other times denying him. Peter didn’t believe he could walk on water with Jesus right in front of him. Thomas needed to put his hands where the nails were just to believe Jesus had resurrected. Not prime examples of certainty!

What did seem to be a quality shared by the disciples was their desire in seeking the face of God. Certainty can be a ruthless way to measure faith, one that keeps track of our failures. However, to measure our faith by our desire to seek the face of God does not keep track of our failures,

but how we respond to them. The church is for seekers, open to all who seek the face of God, in spite of the doubts, uncertainties and failures that are a part of life. Let us persist in this journey of life with all of it’s ups and downs, acknowledging our imperfection, yet persistent in seeking the author and perfecter of our faith.