As Vicar of St John's, I'm sometimes asked about the sign above the church door, which says, "It is time to seek the Lord". This is a quotation from Hosea chapter 10 verse 12, and I recently found myself reflecting on four aspects of seeking.

First, seeking often takes time. The same verse talks about sowing and reaping, which are usually (at least) months apart. We live in a very 'instant' culture of fast food, 'while U wait' service, etc but sometimes the most important things are not speedy.

Second, seeking can be frustrating and hard work. The passage talks about 'breaking up unploughed ground', which prompts me to think about those aspects of our lives which are hardened against God, as we try to keep Him out. I wonder: what aspects of your life would you like to keep God out of?

Third, seeking something new sometimes involves letting go of and saying sorry for past patterns of behaviour. The Bible uses the old-fashioned word 'repentance' for this - we thought about that in a previous blog.

And finally (and thisis the best part), the seeking works both ways: at the same time as people seek the Lord, He seeks us too (you might like to look at the parable of the prodigal son in Luke chapter 15 to find more). I hope that your own seeking is fruitful.

David