Seek

I'm beginning a self-study on the spiritual disciplines around Foster's Celebration of Discipline. He's made interesting commentary on striving in the introduction which I found helpful:

1. What are we ultimately striving for? Christ-likeness: hearts of flesh (Eze. 36:26), renewed minds (Ro. 12:2, 2 Cor. 10:4-5), holy bodies (Ro. 12:1), emanating the fruit of and walking in step with the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-25).

2. Why doesn't striving work? We cannot change our hearts through willpower (Ro. 7:7-25); this is something God must do (Phil. 1:6).

3. So what are we supposed to do? Expend our efforts not on changing ourselves, but on placing ourselves before the King.

This to me was a relief--however imperfectly we place ourselves before God (the book of course goes on to discuss the disciplines as the means of grace: ways we can place ourselves to receive His grace and transformation), He will act. It seemed to distinguish trying (process) and achieving (goal). The first opens oneself to the process of transformation; the second attempts the goal by oneself. Trying to come before God is possible for us because God wants to be found: Jesus--and Moses and Jeremiah--did in fact say we would find Him if we sought (Mt. 7:7, Deut. 4:29, Jer. 29:13). Achieving sinlessness is not possible (God has provided the means of achieving this: Him, not ourselves). Willing, not willful.

Achieving connotatively precludes failure--but failure is impossible to avoid so long as our goal is wilfully attempting self-salvation. Trying changes our focus to being open to the work God is doing. I suppose one could make religion out of seeking God (e.g., by making the disciplines ends rather than means), but it was freeing to me to consider that, if God will use our smallest effort, the only way to really fail is to deliberately avoid Him. Jesus asks us to seek; he does not demand that we find.

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)

Trying v. Achieving

Process v. Goal

Willing v. Willful

Means v. Ends

Seek v. Find