What Are You Seeking?

The first words of Christ recorded in the book of John are “What are you seeking?” (John 1:38). He posed this question to two of John the Baptist's disciples who decided to look into who this Jesus guy was. And what was their response? “Rabbi…, where are you staying?” (John 1:39). I wonder if that was really their answer.

Some would say they were dodging the question.

But maybe it was a question that caught them off guard. How many times has someone unfamiliar to you looked you sincerely in the eye and asked, “What is it you are looking for?”

Or maybe the question was expected, but they weren't quite prepared to tell this stranger the answer to such a probing question.

Another idea, perhaps this truly was their answer: finding out where Jesus was staying was all they were willing to commit to at the moment.

Maybe they were just completely stumped and that was the only thing that came to mind. After all, they were following Jesus down the road. It's not a huge leap of logic to reason that as they were walking after this man, they were seeking to learn where he was headed.

A final possibility I'll offer. Maybe I am looking to deeply into this brief exchange between the newly baptized Jesus and the beginning of two of his earliest followers' discipleship. That very well may be. But I think it's a question I'd like to remember and ask myself occasionally. Look myself in the mirror and say, “If Jesus asked you, ‘What are you seeking?,’ what would you say?”

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