The Truth is out there
One of the benefits of our internet age is being able to watch old TV reruns. I’m a big sci-fi buff, so I love to watch X-Files with Mulder and Scully going off in search of aliens and monsters. The main mantra of that show is, “The truth is out there.”
I’ve noticed that this idea of searching for something has become an entertainment gold mine over the past few years in “un-scripted, reality TV.” In fact, one series is all about gold mining. Then, there are shows about searching for ghosts, big foot, monsters in general, religious relics, buried treasure, buried cities, even buried people! And we get to sit at home and watch it all unfold. Of course, they hardly ever find enough gold or treasure to retire, or any “conclusive” evidence of the illusive creature they’ve been stalking, but we watch anyway, from season to season.
There aren’t a lot of things that all people have in common, but searching seems to be one of them. I believe this is because we are actually hard-wired for it. God created us to be in a relationship with Him. How else could that occur if we didn’t seek each other out? In His infinite compassion and grace, God seeks us out first, and then, we turn and seek Him, right?
Well, we should be seeking God, responding to His call like a child responds to their father’s voice. Instead, we get confused with all of the other voices around us. We get twisted up, and all of the energy we should be using to seek Him we use to seek other things that…kinda, sorta, maybe…look like Him.
Maybe we feel lonely and are drawn to the idea that we’re not alone in the universe, so we get caught up with aliens. Or maybe we want to believe that a romantic relationship could actually last forever, so we sink our teeth into vampire novels with immortal characters. If we feel ugly and dirty, we may rationalize that everyone’s really a monster on the inside, and then we buy dolls for our daughters that look like little girl-monsters so they won’t feel bad about the monsters within. (Yes, monster dolls are a real thing, and they creep me out.)
It’s normal to have these feelings and to search for comfort and answers in the things of this world (and its surrounding universe, of course). However, these things can’t give us what we really seek – the complete Truth. For that, we need to seek the Creator of all things. Fortunately, His deeds and love for us are spelled out in the Christian Bible. Unlike those reality shows, we don’t have to come up empty handed season after season. The One we should seek is not imaginary and is not hiding from us. Instead, He is running toward us at full speed, and He is the answer for loneliness, despair, depression, guilt, lust, and any other issue the world and the enemy can throw at us! Mulder did get one thing right: the Truth really is out there. If we seek Him, we will find Him.
Luke 12:29-31 “And do not seek what you shall eat, and what you shall drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek for His kingdom, and these things shall be added to you.” (NAS)
Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (NAS)
