kneel in wonder at heaven touching earth

You search us and know us

In Psalm 139:1-6, we read:

O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
   you discern my thoughts from far away.
You search out my path and my lying down,
   and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
   O Lord, you know it completely.
You hem me in, behind and before,
   and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
   it is so high that I cannot attain it.

In many ways, that’s quite a scary thought. We cannot lie to God; he knows the truth. In fact, he knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows all about our daily lives, when we sit, and when we rise. He knows all our ways, our mannerisms and character traits, our motives and goals. He even knows what we’re going to say and think, before even we do. A scary thought indeed.

But there are a couple of ways that, for me, make this a comforting thought too:

We don’t have to pretend with God; he knows us. We don’t have to try and be the person we think others want us to be; he knows who we really are. It’s the real person who we are that God wants, and calls into his service.

And, despite him knowing us so intimately, knowing all the bad things in our lives and character as well as the good, already knowing the things about us that we’re ashamed of, as well as those we’re proud of, he still loves us. God loves the real us, the real me — warts and all!

It’s because of that love that we can rely on him in strength, and rest on him in weakness.

Almighty God,
you search us and know us:
may we rely on you in strength
and rest on you in weakness,
now and in all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Additional Collect for The Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity
is Copyright © The Archbishops Council

The end of our searching

One of the things that became clear, for me, throughout the whole of the New Age Movement, was that many people were looking for something spiritual in their lives. And in so many ways the movement was a response to that need in people. Indeed, many people felt they’d found what they were looking for in what it offered.

Now, I have to say straight away that there is much about the New Age Movement that I don’t understand. And what I don’t want to do is criticise other people’s sincerely held beliefs in this post. That isn’t my reason for mentioning it. And if I did do that I would be talking from a position of ignorance, which I may well have already done in the first paragraph.

No, my reason for mentioning the New Age Movement, and people searching for something spiritual in their lives, is simply that it’s my belief that they didn’t need to search so far. The goal was always so much closer to home. For me, that search has deepened my Christian faith and led me back into the Church.

The Church hasn’t been especially successful in promoting itself. But I feel sure that if many of those who have found satisfaction within New Age philosophies hadn’t dismissed Christianity and The Church out of hand — probably because it was seen as old fashioned and irrelevent — they, too, might have found what they were searching for: just as I have.

To my mind, the God of glory, really is the end of our searching.

God of glory,
the end of our searching,
help us to lay aside
all that prevents us from seeking your kingdom,
and to give all that we have
to gain the pearl beyond all price,
through our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Additional Collect for The Eleventh Sunday after Trinity
is Copyright © The Archbishops Council