Seeking security

Security. It's something most people long for and often don't have. Job security is illusive today. Security in the famly situation can be iffy. Airports and other travel venues remind us of concerns for national security. Retirees (and those approaching retirement) worry about the viability of Social Security. Churches, too, struggle with the effects of a difficult economy, loss of participation, so that even in the realm of spiritual nurture and support, folks experience insecurity.

In our society, the tendency is to look for security in what we can earn or possess: house, car, income, furnishings and so on. But despite our consumerist drive, it becomes evident that there is little that can provide lasting security. Houses have lost a chunk of their value in the last couple of years. Cars are greatly de-valued when we drive them off the lot. Retirement funds relying on the stock market were slammed in the downturn, or in some cases stolen by companies. Real income has dwindled for most folks, job benefits have been curtailed. Higher education, once the ticket to the good life, now is so costly that many college grads labor under the weight of student loans and often find themselves working in fields for which their education did not prepare them -- that's if they can find a job at all! Though everyone would like to be financially independent, the truth is, there is no real security in material things. Yes, life can be easier for those who have much, but it can be very complicated and disappointing for those folks, too. How often we hear of the celebrity or the heir or the lotto winner who just can't take it any more.

The follower of Jesus learns from him that genuine security is not to be found in material possessions, even though they are necessary for our life. We must have food, shelter, clothing, of course. And our lives are made more enjoyable as the "standard of living" is raised. Yet lasting security -- security that carries us beyond this life -- is to be found in trusting God, in experiencing the assurance of our acceptance through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. When there is no other security, we still may know the security of salvation in Christ. It is the great paradox of discipleship that, as Jesus said, when we lose our life in him, we truly find it.