What Are You Looking For?

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I can be very compulsive at times when looking for a misplaced item.  I am frequently asked, "What are you looking for," as I rummage frantically for my keys, lost paper and or bill.  Sometimes in my frenzied search I don't reply right away so then the question is repeated. Many times the item will be in an area that I already searched making me wonder what is wrong with my vision. Blindness of sorts I guess.

All of these incidents remind me to take a step back and reflect. Why am I so frantic in my search and why do I become so disconnected from who and what is around me? It is as if the end of the world will come if I don't find the item that instant.

Jesus poses the question to the two disciples that left John to follow him, "What are you looking for?"  Some of us have endured this question as life has taking us to unfulfilled dreams, escapism and immersion in a increasingly secular society, and finally emptiness that brings us to consider the question.

My favorite band, U2 released the song, "I Still Haven't Found What I am Looking For" in 1987 from the ever popular Joshua Tree album. For the sake of brevity I will not analyze the albums spiritual significance. The song details the travels that many take looking for purpose and happiness in life as it begins with the lyrics:

I have climbed the highest mountains
I have run through the fields
Only to be with you
Only to be with you

Subsequent lines talk of crawling and climbing walls, kissing honey lips, holding the hand of the devil, singing with angels, but ultimately not finding what they were looking for.   Those familiar with the group and lead singer Bono, know of the spiritual background of this song and many others as the seemingly endless quest to find fulfillment in this life.  The video release of the song reveals Bono and the group on the strip of Las Vegas meandering the endless throngs of slot machines and interacting with people along the way.   Temptations abound. The question of what are you looking for is quite apparent. The glitzy bright lights, the temptations of the flesh, the draw of the crowds, are the very same appeals that leave many with the unquenchable emptiness.

I think of my own path. Searching for what I thought was purpose in life was really the human desire to be recognized, to draw attention to myself, to bask in the light of pride. Once sucked into this never ending thirst of living only for myself,  "chained" as the lyrics state, it seemed there was no way out. I knew God existed, but was I willing to change my ways, "to have the chains broken and the bonds loosed" as chorus continues.

Many years later I find myself writing frequently about the God's seemingly endless graces. I can reflect on my path as I try to answer the question, "What are you looking for?" Through all of the messiness of life I think I can see a light on the path. Yes, the glory of personal success is appealing but short lived, as well as accomplishments by those close to me. Nothing is sustaining. Even by today's standards the desire for peace and harmony is only momentary are we are bombarded by news of terrorist acts and animosity in our own nation on an unprecedented scale.

This light is indeed Jesus, bringing hope through the promises of His words. The search for completion and wholeness goes on and as long as I am standing I am as Bono sings "I still haven't found what I am looking for." And yes I am still looking for those lost keys.