September 15, 2020
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When you go to a church potluck dinner, you never know what kind of luck you're going to have in your pot. Friends of ours were at one of those dinners with their granddaughter, and someone there had baked what they called a Jesus cake. That raises the obvious question, "What is a Jesus cake?" They were told that someone had actually baked a very small plastic baby toy into the cake, and they called it Baby Jesus. (Okay, do not try this at home.) I'm just telling you what happened. If anyone found the baby in their piece of cake, they would win a prize. Well, crazy, but our friends' granddaughter became obsessed with finding the baby - to the point of downing five pieces of cake - the ultimate "sugar high." She was desperately trying to find what she thought was baby Jesus, and she did. And when she found the baby, the little girl said, "Finding Baby Jesus changes everything."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Surprising End of a Long Search."
When my friends told me about their granddaughter's discovery, my first thought was, "Crazy story...cute story." Then I realized that what happened to that little girl was also a picture of what's happened in the lives of so many people I've met - a long search for the prize. Then the end of the search that changes everything - finding Jesus.
Our lives are so much more than just the sum of all our daily activities. Those aren't enough to satisfy the thirst in your soul. We're seekers. Beginning in our teenage years, we're searching for what goes in that hole that's deep in our heart. We want significance. One of the best-selling books a few years ago was entitled "The Purpose-Driven Life." That's a good description of what we're looking for; some great purpose that will drive our life and give it significance...give it meaning. We're looking for the answer to the question, "What's the point of all this?"
We're also on a search for love. We invest pretty heavily in one relationship after another, hoping that this one will pay off in giving us the one love that we'll never lose. But that's the problem with every human love - they either desert you, they disappoint you, they divorce you, or they die on you. So our search for that anchor love goes on. Well, we're looking for security, too; something we know will be there to hang onto when everything else in our life is up for grabs.
So we just keep grabbing another piece of the cake, hoping that what we're looking for is in that slice, and it isn't. Listen to what Jesus says about the end of our lifetime search in John 6:35. It's our word for today from the Word of God. He says, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty." Wow! Hunger satisfied. Thirst quenched. Search over when you come to Jesus.
Why? Because the God who puts us here is what we've been looking for. We were made for a love relationship with Him. But, according to the Bible, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). We were created for God, but we've lived for ourselves. And we've lost Him, and thus the hole in our heart. That restlessness - that lack of peace and fulfillment - that's an echo of another world; the constant reminder that God is missing. Until, in the words of that little girl, "Jesus changes everything."
That's because His death on the cross was the payment that can cancel the sin that stands between us and our God - between you and your God. His resurrection from the dead is the proof that He can deliver on the eternal life that He promises. And this very day, He is, in His words, knocking on the door of your heart. In reality, you don't find Jesus. He finds and comes to you, offering you the opportunity to grab Him like a drowning person would grab their rescuer. At the moment you do that, everything between you and God is erased forever.
Today could be that day for you when your long search finally ends. If you want that, I encourage you to visit our website. There's a brief explanation there exactly how to get started with Jesus this very day. ANewStory.com - that's the address.
You could be very close to the end of your search. You're very close to Jesus. When you find Him, you have found everything your soul has ever longed for.