Seek him and you will find him
“I can’t found answers as to why I’m here.”
This was the question that a nineteen year old Indian Brahmin student, Bhaskar Sreerangam, had repeatedly asked. He was a deeply religious Hindu but he wanted to know how to avoid the endless cycle of reincarnation. He didn’t want to keep coming back to this earth time after time, never reaching paradise. He couldn’t conceive carrying on with his life without the guarantee that all his religious devotions would pay off. Then came a severe disappointment with his university registration. He prayed to the lifeless Hindu images on the wall of his room saying,
“My real concern is this: please tell me what I must do to come to you after I die.”i
The problem was that he received no answers to his prayers. Driven by a lifetime of hitherto fruitless seeking, he felt that an offering of his own blood would jolt the gods into action. How could they be unmoved by such commitment? Could an offering of his own blood – could that be what the gods were waiting for? So he pricked his thumb with a safety pin and anointed the foreheads of all the images of his gods with the blood, as marks of worship. He was desperate and came to this conclusion,
“If you don’t tell me - tonight - how I can come to you when I die, then tomorrow I will commit suicide so that I can find out for myself. I’m tired. I’ve kept asking and asking. I can’t wait any longer. Tell me tonight how I can be released from these cycles of reincarnation – or tomorrow I will kill myself.”ii
He didn’t want to die, the prospect was as horrifying as it was terrifying. However he honestly thought that the deities would be so upset to see such a faithful Hindu should suffer. He wanted the gods to know that,
“ . . .such a great devotee like me would take such drastic measures, that they would spring into miraculous and spectacular action out of their sheer desperation to save me.’
He couldn’t sleep that night. Why didn’t the gods do something? Why didn’t they answer? It then dawned on him that he would have to go through with his threat to kill himself. His problem was that he had now made a pledge to god, perhaps they were testing his sincerity. The gods must see that he was a man of his word. He just longed for security and an assurance that after death all would be well.
So, to be true to his word he reckoned that a slow death would give the gods time to respond and intervene. He took a glass tumbler and broke it down to razor sharp shards of glass. He mixed this with some rice. He would eat it that night.
He then decided to have one last walk through Madras. It was about six in the evening and he became increasingly worried. He didn’t want to return to his room because he knew what he had promised to do. There was no sign from the gods so he turned to go home.
At this point a man approached him and gave him a slip of paper about the size of a postcard printed with red ink. At the top, in English, were the words, ‘Blood is Needed’ and the man went on to explain how blood can be needed to save people’s lives. Usually people were paid to give blood but Bhaskar reckoned that giving blood would be a good way to add to his merit-worthy karma in his last hours of life. He would give his own blood, as much as they want, to save someone. The man, who turned out to be a lecturer in the university then explained,
“No, it isn’t a blood bank but a public meeting. Come and join us.”
This was the first time he had ever entered a Christian church. He had never heard the name of Jesus mentioned before then. It was simple building with benches. There were only a handful of men present. They sang some hymns in English and then a teacher stood up and gave a talk. He didn’t remember much of what was said except for a phrase he kept repeating,
“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”
It was that little word ‘will’ that got Bhaskar’s attention. It wasn’t ‘might’ or ‘maybe’ or ‘possibly’ or ‘hopefully’. The preacher was saying ‘you will have eternal life’. After the talk he asked his new friend,
“Who is this Jesus that man was talking about?”
A Bible was opened and he was shown the most famous Bible verse,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
He then reread that verse inserting Bhaskar’s name,
“For God so loved Bhaskar, that he gave his only Son for Bhaskar, that if Bhaskar believes in him, Bhaskar shall not perish but Bhaskar will have eternal life.”
When the verse was read in this way, it had an electrifying effect. Bhaskar’s future did not depend on on his endeavours, his devotion, his good works, his singing, his pilgrimages, his fasting, Jesus could give him what he so deeply longed for. Bhaskar had longed to be saved and here was Jesus offering to save him.
“Let me pray for you,” his new friend suggested. Then he started talking to someone I couldn’t see – where was his god?
He returned home clutching a New Testament and threw away his deadly concoction. Bhaskar still had much to learn about the uniqueness of Jesus. At first he thought he was yet another member of the pantheon of Hindu Gods. He declared to the images of the Hindu gods in his room,
“I don’t know who You are, but I heard about You today. You have a strange name that I have never heard before, but the man who spoke to me says if I believe in You, You will give me assurance of eternal life. Seeing as I’ve tried so many other things, I don’t mind trying you as well.”
Bhaskar then began to study the Scriptures and there he discovered the real historic Jesus, so different from the Hindu gods he had revered, He was what he had so deeply longed for.
This true story demonstrates that God is a real God who longs to b]reveal himself to all people.
The Bible makes it clear that the God who created this world can be found by those who earnestly seek him.
He warned the Children of Israel, after they had been rescued from four hundred years of captivity in Egypt and were approaching a new life in the Promised Land,
“ . . . if you then become corrupt and make any kind of evil in the eyes of the LORD your God and provoking him to anger, . . . you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess . . . The LORD will scatter you among the peoples.” Deuteronomy 4:25-27
Their salvation was in their hands. Even if they turn their backs on God when in exile and worship foreign gods, there was still hope:
“But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Deuteronomy 4:29
What does it mean to seek the Lord? It is surely a willingness to return to live under his authority and for his purposes. This passage continues,
“ . . . you will return to the LORD your God and obey him. For the LORD your God is a merciful God . . .” Deuteronomy 4:31
King David said to his son Solomon,
“And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind., for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will reject you for ever.” 1 Chronicles 28:9
The Lord subsequently told Solomon,
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
The prophet Jeremiah passed on God’s message to the exiles in Babylon,
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you.” Jeremiah 29:13
The prophet Amos, teaching when Judea and Israel were separated, gave God’s message to the house of Israel,
“Seek me and live.” Amos 5:4
The prophet Zephaniah told the people of Judah,
“Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility, perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger.” Zephaniah 2:3
The prophet Hosea said to the Jews who had returned from the Babylonian exile,
“For it is time to seek the LORD.” Hosea 10:12
Jesus himself repeatedly stressed the need for people to seek God. In his Sermon on the Mount he taught,
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33
‘These things’ are all the necessities of life. The Lord is good and cares for his people. The righteousness we need to be acceptable to God is that perfect righteousness that we are given when we become members of God’s kingdom. Seeking the Lord is a priority for any who want to be acceptable to God.
“Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8
Jesus has done everything needed to make us acceptable to God, it was he who began the search for us. He said to the little tax man who he wanted to become his follower,
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10
God sometimes steps into people’s lives in remarkable ways but he still expects us to respond in a committed way,
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6
Could this be the reason why many churches in the west are becoming so weak. Is seeking to please our Lord and Saviour the priority of our lives? Are we doing all we can to glorify him and extend his kingdom? The Lord loves to be close to those who want to live closely with him.
BVP
April 2022
Bhaskar Sreerangam, ‘Brahmin Reborn’ 10publishing 2019 p. 75
2. Ibid p.77
