Ask, Seek, Knock 

   “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matt 7: 7) 

   Upon these words of Jesus rests our faith and hope for eternal life.  There is, however, a caution; we must ask with sincerity, seek with an open mind, and an open heart.  We must knock with perseverance, confident in His words, “For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.  A half-hearted attempt is of no value, it must be sincere.  It must be full of faith in the promises of Christ.

   I believe Jesus also comes to us, asking, seeking, and knocking, that we might welcome Him into our life.  Our salvation is from Him, but we must cooperate with His efforts to sanctify us.  He will not force His will upon us.

   Jesus asks that we give up our worldly desires and follow His will, that we pick up our cross each day and follow Him.  He asks that we love God with all our heart, mind, and soul, and that we love our neighbor as ourselves.  He asks in all sincerity, hoping for our answer of “yes Lord.”

   He seeks our soul.  He searches our heart to see if there is faith or if there is evil.  He wants to heal us, to bring us closer to Him and His will in our life.  If we open ourselves to Him, He will enter and live within us.

   Our Savior knocks on the door of our life.  He is sometimes the hungry looking for a meal, sometimes the naked in need of clothing.  He told us that whatever we do for the least of our brothers and sisters we do for Him.  If we open the door to Him in our love and charity, He will open the door to eternal life for us to enter.

   We must ask, seek, and knock with all sincerity.  When Jesus asks, seeks, and knocks on our door we, like the Blessed Mother, must answer, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1: 38).