An odd souvenir from my recent vacation is a headache brought on by serious eye strain. I searched hard all weekend – for shark’s teeth on the beach, dolphins out in the marsh, and painted buntings in the trees and on the birdfeeder. Seeing two out of the three wasn’t bad. The painted buntings stayed elusive. I wondered if my parents were joking with me because whenever I came in they would say “You just missed them!”

How often do others see things that we cannot, or see things easily while we strain hard? It is frustrating when someone’s eyes can pick things out when you cannot.

Sometimes the reason we cannot see things is because we haven’t been shown how to properly look. I grew up with my dad showing me how to find shark teeth on the beach. He showed me lots of pictures of what I was looking for and taught me tricks to see them. He could look at the same patch of sand I was looking at and find 5 teeth where I had seen none! He came alongside me and we spent time looking for the tiny prizes. This made for good practice and skill-building. I was eventually able to find them easily.

I don’t get to look for them as much lately. When I do get to go to a salty shore, my instinct to look for them kicks right in, but my skills aren’t the same. I now struggle to see what once used to jump out at me.

I recently heard a sermon about “finding Jesus.” It isn’t that Jesus is lost, nor is He hiding. “He is actually not far from each one of us”. (Acts 17:24-27) Sometimes we miss seeing His mighty hand’s beauty and loving care because we haven’t been told how we can find Him for ourselves. Often, we aren’t looking very hard for Him, so we miss even the visible. Perhaps we have stepped away from the practices that keep our eyes sharp, so our ability to see His handiwork has dulled.

Regarding the painted bunting, I don’t know what to look for because I haven’t seen one before. My mom has provided all the right equipment – the feeder, the bird book with photos, her excitement about the beauties – but I have no personal knowledge of them, nor have I given time or diligence to seeing them, so I have come up empty.

Some have no personal experience with Jesus. They may have the right equipment – Bibles in their language that they own or have access to, information at their fingertips, and friends who are ardent Christ-followers – yet they do not make use of these maps and guides to find Him. Additionally, some haven’t even heard of Jesus and don’t know the treasure available to them.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord”. Jeremiah 29:13-14 “The Lord gives sight to the blind.” (Psalm 146:8)

Seeking is active – much different than passively waiting for something to come to you. Knowing what you are looking for gives you less chance of missing it. Pursuing something means you are more likely to catch it. And if you don’t know where to start, having someone help point you in the right direction is a helpful boost toward an exciting encounter.

These strategies: seeking, pursuing, and being guided, are steps toward seeing and experiencing The Almighty. This is where disciples come in! Those with Jesus’s lenses on the eyes of our hearts know the joy of a relationship with our Lord and Savior! It is up to us to share the vision of Him, point the way to find Him, and share the equipment that helps with discovery. We are also to bring truth to those who have lost their way in order to “turn them back”. (James 5:19)

Jesus is faithful. When we strain to see and really make the effort, He reveals Himself and is found.