Why Searching for Christ
Jan 26, 2025 • Fr Matthias Shehad
Why people search for and come to Christ, and emphasizes the importance of having the right motivations and sincerely seeking to follow God’s will.
There are many positive and negative reasons why people search for Christ. One reason is to oppose Him. When God told the people to fast and mourn because they have sinned, they accepted their condemnation but instead of doing anything about it, they became stubborn and said let’s eat and drink for tomorrow we die. Another is to chase misguided desires; we would come to Him only so that He can grant every wish like a genie, but that’s not how God works. Yes, He may grant some of our wishes but it’s always what He thinks is right for us. Another reason is to chase earthly wealth. This is not saying that getting wealth is a bad thing but making it a top priority over other things in life such as the spiritual life with God is what makes it bad. Another is to justify actions. The pharisees believed that they were the people of God and everything they do was for God. But they were doing it for their own selfish authority and not for God. Another is vengeance. When the apostles had the apostolic authority, instead of using it for Christ-worthy things, they asked Christ if they can rain down fire upon their enemies. God isn’t vengeful, but merciful. This isn’t something Christ would do. People think that by doing the stuff God asks such as reading the bible, going to church and pray, He will destroy their enemies. Which brings this to misguided desires; sometimes God delivers people from enemies on earth but ultimately, it’s something you should conquer. Another is a part of superficial worship. People think that if they feel some sort of strong emotion while praying, it means a strong spiritual life. But that’s not what makes a good spiritual life. A sign of a good spiritual life is being virtuous. Like a tree, if a person is virtuous, they are like a healthy tree bearing good fruit and vice versa. The apostles were enthusiastic initially during their journey with Christ, but their emotion didn’t last. You should also do the action instead of simply feeling the emotion. Another is to be affiliated with a group. The parents of the healed blind man didn’t want to admit the miracle happened to the pharisees because if they did, they would get kicked out of the synagogue. You shouldn’t go to church simply because the people who you like are going. You shouldn’t go simply because of people. You should go because of your sincerity. Another is they crave miracles from God. They ignore everything else God says and simply just said, “Show me some miracles.”
The real reason you should search for Christ is to follow in his footsteps to be virtuous. You should be sincere in wanting to be with Christ. You should follow his commandments and search for him to have a vibrant spiritual life. Listen and obey Christ’s teachings, even when they challenge us to make difficult changes in our lives.
There are many positive and negative reasons why people search for Christ. One reason is to oppose Him. When God told the people to fast and mourn because they have sinned, they accepted their condemnation but instead of doing anything about it, they became stubborn and said let’s eat and drink for tomorrow we die. Another is to chase misguided desires; we would come to Him only so that He can grant every wish like a genie, but that’s not how God works. Yes, He may grant some of our wishes but it’s always what He thinks is right for us. Another reason is to chase earthly wealth. This is not saying that getting wealth is a bad thing but making it a top priority over other things in life such as the spiritual life with God is what makes it bad. Another is to justify actions. The pharisees believed that they were the people of God and everything they do was for God. But they were doing it for their own selfish authority and not for God. Another is vengeance. When the apostles had the apostolic authority, instead of using it for Christ-worthy things, they asked Christ if they can rain down fire upon their enemies. God isn’t vengeful, but merciful. This isn’t something Christ would do. People think that by doing the stuff God asks such as reading the bible, going to church and pray, He will destroy their enemies. Which brings this to misguided desires; sometimes God delivers people from enemies on earth but ultimately, it’s something you should conquer. Another is a part of superficial worship. People think that if they feel some sort of strong emotion while praying, it means a strong spiritual life. But that’s not what makes a good spiritual life. A sign of a good spiritual life is being virtuous. Like a tree, if a person is virtuous, they are like a healthy tree bearing good fruit and vice versa. The apostles were enthusiastic initially during their journey with Christ, but their emotion didn’t last. You should also do the action instead of simply feeling the emotion. Another is to be affiliated with a group. The parents of the healed blind man didn’t want to admit the miracle happened to the pharisees because if they did, they would get kicked out of the synagogue. You shouldn’t go to church simply because the people who you like are going. You shouldn’t go simply because of people. You should go because of your sincerity. Another is they crave miracles from God. They ignore everything else God says and simply just said, “Show me some miracles.”
The real reason you should search for Christ is to follow in his footsteps to be virtuous. You should be sincere in wanting to be with Christ. You should follow his commandments and search for him to have a vibrant spiritual life. Listen and obey Christ’s teachings, even when they challenge us to make difficult changes in our lives.