Ronnie McBrayer

By Ronnie McBrayer

Seekers Wanted—Organized and Otherwise

My children are organizationally challenged. More bluntly, they are slobs. Left to themselves they would wear the same unwashed shirt for a month, inches of rust would gather behind their ears, and mold would grow on their teeth. And spontaneously cleaning their rooms? Forget about it. They simply do not care about orderliness, sanitation, or hygiene.

If you don’t believe me, come have a cup of coffee with me some morning and watch them leave for school. They head out the door with their pencils, lunch money, and supplies dropping from their hands, pockets, and backpacks like scattering birdseed. And their notebooks look like a three-ringed junk yards. Notes, homework assignments, flyers from the book fair, old report cards: All this scrap and crap is hanging out everywhere.

Yet, they are eager, excellent students, so I have to learn to set aside some of my “cleanliness is next to godliness” obsession and just help them where I can. Besides, I would rather have them be willing-and-curious-but-cluttered students than orderly, tidy slackers.

The same can be said about those who seek a relationship with Christ. Not all these seekers can be found inside the church or at the regular scheduled time of weekend worship. This doesn’t mean there is no value to what happens in our houses of worship on Sunday (or whatever day one gathers), or that gathering in community isn’t important.

It simply means that some very sincere seekers of Jesus may not come to us wearing their Sunday finest and polished wingtips. They may not have a big, red, memorized Bible tucked neatly beneath their arm. They may not have all their beliefs hammered out.

On the contrary they may be confused, conflicted, or plain clueless when it comes to life and their beliefs. Their personal, relational, and family lives may be a disastrous mess (with scrap and crap everywhere). They may be rusty and moldy. But this doesn’t mean these folks aren’t seeking God or that God isn’t very busy in their lives.

The more we understand Jesus, the more we must realize that people encounter him all the time, and all over the place, even before they realize who he is or how to call his name. They hunger for, and we pray for, that moment of recognition. And when it comes, we rejoice that God has rewarded another eager child who has come diligently seeking.

Ronnie McBrayer is the author of “Leaving Religion, Following Jesus.” He writes and speaks about life, faith, and Christ-centered spirituality. Visit his website at www.ronniemcbrayer.net.