Catching Fireflies

Recently, I went to Washington D.C. with a group of seniors from my church group. One of the nights, we ate dinner at the Naval Academy, after a long day of tours in our dress-up clothes. We had a great three-course meal, had a wonderful Bible study, and then began our walk back to the bus. On the way, we went to a field and were goofing off, taking pictures and just having a great time. It got dark, and as we started walking the rest of the way to the bus, we saw fireflies. For the majority of us southern kids, we'd never seen fireflies in our lives, so this was an exciting occasion for us!

Imagine our wonder when it was dark, and all we could see are little floating lights all around us! Now, I'm sure you all know that I'm not a bug person. I like lady bugs just fine, and I could be around snakes, lizards and frogs all day long without being bothered. But put me around a flying bug, and I get really scared! So everyone in the group had caught one except me, and Kenny was catching them left and right. So I cupped my hands in front of me and just prayed and prayed that one would just fly right into my hands. Low and behold, one came within inches of my face, and I couldn't tell until it lit up. It surprised me and I jumped. I couldn't bring myself to catch it. Meanwhile, the bug had lost interest in me and flown away. Now, this made me mad. I was determined to catch a firefly, no matter how scared I was, no matter what I would find when I caught it. (Maybe they were dangerous, and everyone just pretended they weren't?)

I chased after fireflies in the grass, but they eluded me skillfully. Finally, ten feet from the bus, a firefly flew right next to me and I reached out and cupped it in my hand. I peeked in and watched it glow with all the wonderment of a little child catching their first firefly. I skipped happily back to the bus exclaiming that it was the best day of my life. I got back onto the bus and announced that I had caught a firefly, but no one seemed as impressed as they should.

When I thought about this story yesterday, I thought about how it applies to those who are searching for truth. In a dark world, there are little glimmers of what may be "truth." It catches their attention, but they can't quite grasp it because whenever they come close to it, it fades into the dark again. It seems as if the truth is eluding them. But that just means that what they were trying to grab wasn't truth at all. Because if it was, it wouldn't fade away. Listen to this: "You will seek Me and find Me when you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13) When you seek God with all your heart, He doesn't come close to you only to say, "Haha, suckahh! Almost got me!" God wants you to seek Him. God wants you to find Him.

I wished and wished for a firefly to just come to me...but when I did, I was too scared to reach out and grab it. Don't be afraid to reach out and grab Truth. It's that easy. You don't need to find Truth, because Truth is not the one that's lost. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by Me." (John 14:6). Do you see a glimmer of Truth? Do you wish that it would come to you? It has. Do you wish that you could reach out and grab it? DO IT! It will change your life.

(P.S. Don't let your preconceived notions of what truth should look or feel like change your perception of the real Truth. Jesus said in John 1:11 that He walked among His own people, and His own people were the ones that put Him on a Cross. It's important to recognize real Truth when you see it. Jesus IS that Truth.)