I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For

Unlike the popular U2 song, this is a story of finding what you’re looking for.  Awhile back, I wrote about doing my DNA testing for fun.  Then, I “met” a DNA cousin match online.  As an adoptee, she was searching for her birth family.  Through a bit of detective work, we believe that Lisa has identified her birth father, my cousin, and has made contact with a possible birth mother family as well.  Her birth father received her contact information, and has said he will contact her.  Lisa still feels she has some answers and closure.  This has been a fun, twisty-turny pursuit, without perhaps the perfect Merry Christmas ending, but Lisa found what she was looking for.

 How does this relate to a Christmas themed blog?  Well, as we know, Jesus was a very sought-after baby as well.  The King was in hot pursuit of Him, searching house by house to find this threat to his political power.  The three wise men were guided by a star to find him and compelled to bring him gifts and to honor him.  The shepherds were awestruck by a Heavenly chorus and had to witness this miracle birth. 

 In this instance, the participants fully knew the lineage of the baby Jesus, and how important this arrival was.  It was a promise—fulfilled.  It was a prophecy—come true.  It was a future—free from bondage and the law. 

 What are you looking for this Christmas season?  Maybe your miracle hasn’t happened, yet.  Maybe your promise hasn’t been fulfilled, yet.  Maybe you’re entering the New Year, not feeling so optimistic about your future.  There could be a situation you simply need some closure on.  You might be singing, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For…” 

 What we do know, though, is the search for Jesus is not in vain.  We can picture the crowd that gathered around that manger, perhaps at various times, that bright night, that cold air, that sweet hay, the leathery smell of animals, the glow of a small fire, the squeak or squawl of a newborn baby.  We can see the awe and adoration in the eyes of the onlookers.  We can feel the pride, and love, and contentment in Joseph and Mary’s hearts. 

 As we celebrate this season, perhaps we haven’t been as fortunate in our search as Lisa has for whatever our hearts seek, but we can have peace in that one pure truth: that we found a baby, in a manger, and that He is the answer.