Chasing After Jesus

By Cal Cook

Reading the Scriptures this morning has left me a bit bewildered…the reading from 2 Samuel speaks of David and the house that will be built. Some of it seems to speak of Solomon and some of it seems to speak of Jesus…I’m not sure how to unravel it?

The Ephesians reading says that together, Jews and Gentiles all believers make up the House of God…a Holy Temple built on the Apostles and the Prophets with Christ as the Corner Stone. Certainly the reconciling theme is continued from last week, with the idea of a house…a home…a temple, Holy and dedicated to the Lord containing all of His people being the end result of God’s plan. It moves my thoughts to Heaven…our permanent home…not the tent we are currently living in, one made not with human hands (2 Cor 5). – Monday July 13th

The Gospel Reading actually skips over two miracles that we’ll cover next week from the Gospel of John. With the miracles not read it leaves us with this curious account of the people chasing after Jesus, following Him wherever He goes. They try to find rest after their missionary journeys, but the people seek them out wherever they go. One time they arrive on shore and Jesus teaches them, the next they bring the sick and lame and He heals them.

It reminds me of the time someone says, “Teacher I will follow you wherever you go.” Yet Jesus replies, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” The people are seeking comfort; they’re seeking healing; they’re seeking wisdom…they’re seeking more than this world can offer them! They’re seeking a place to call home, where their needs can be met.

David having conquered all that was before him and built himself a palace seeks to build a home for God…a temple to honor Him. Yet God tells David no, “I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name,” Solomon did build a Temple, according to the standards God had given David. Scripture tells us it is a copy of the one in Heaven. Yet we can also see that Jesus is the son of whom God is speaking when He continues “I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” The house He builds will be made first in the hearts of men and women…chasing after Him seeking something more than this world offers…the home we all long for, the home we all have in our hearts…even if we doubt its existence. – Tuesday July 14th

What is it we all long for? What motivates us in our being? Is it pleasure? Maybe it’s just the absence of pain? Buddhists believe that life is all about suffering and pain, so the goal is to learn to escape it by…essentially ignoring it really well! Is that all there is to this life? How sad!

The Bible says of God and this life: “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” (Eccl 3:11) Eternity in our hearts…is that what motivates us? An innate sense of knowing there is more to this life than the here and now? Is that the force that has caused the religions of the world to spout up over time? Are they an attempt to capture and explain that which is beyond our ability to fathom? - Thursday July 16th