A smile crosses my face as I look at the calendar. In just a few weeks I will be back in the Chattanooga area, preaching at a meeting and setting up my book table. I love the area; the historical sites, the friendly people and the natural beauty are second to none.
One place we always try to make time for is Ruby Falls. We first heard of it a few years ago, made a visit and were instantly hooked. I am not one who longs to make my way into the skyscraper-filled metropolises of the world. Give me a body of water to scuba dive down into, a mountain to hike or a cave to explore and I am as happy as a clam at high tide. As such, Ruby Falls makes it very near to the top of my favorite happy places.
When we first visited Ruby Falls, we were clearly expecting to see an amazing underground waterfall, and fabulous rock formations, and we were not disappointed in the least. But even before we entered the cave, I was already thrilled by what I found outside. There, hanging on a wall, was a brass plaque bearing the likeness of Leo Lambert, the man who discovered the falls, and a quote from him. The plaque read as follows:
“Discovering Ruby Falls was like discovering God. At first it is very dark, scary and uncertain. You don’t know what lies ahead. You bump into things you didn’t even realize were there and you suffer injuries bumps and bruises. You fall down into the sticky, sticky mud and mire and feel like you cannot go on. But you get up with a feeling that somewhere ahead lies something more wonderful than you could ever imagine.
“As you add light to what you discovered you find that the things that caused you suffering and injury were wonderful, God-made things, put there for you to witness and to give you joy. It is all more than you ever imagined you could witness. It is God, and Ruby Mountain Falls and the Lookout Mountain Cave are God’s Creations, made for man to enjoy.”
Lambert seems to have stumbled onto more than just an amazing, underground waterfall. He also seems to have stumbled onto a biblical truth. In Jeremiah 29:13, God says, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
There was just enough of an opening, and just enough promise of something grand, to compel Leo Lambert to explore a cave, despite the risk of injury and death. Likewise, God gives us just enough of an opening, and just enough promise of something grand, to compel us to seek after him, despite the fears of the unknown. And with a being like God, would you expect it to be any other way?
In his immortal work “The Screwtape Letters,” C.S. Lewis has this communication coming from the senior demon, Screwtape, to his trainee, Wormwood: “You must have wondered why the Enemy does not make more use of His power to be sensibly present to human souls in any degree He chooses and at any moment. But now you see that the Irresistible and the Indisputable are the two weapons which the very nature of His scheme forbids Him to use. Merely to override a human will (as His felt presence in any but the faintest and most mitigated degree would certainly do) would be for Him useless. He cannot ravish, He can only woo.”
If people desire to find God, they can. The only people who cannot find him are those that do not desire to find him and therefore never make the search. Yes, the search can be scary and, yes, there are bumps and bruises along the way. But for those who are willing to risk everything, and refuse to give up till they find the God who made them, the results are always the same: breathtaking, awe-inspiring, unforgettable and life-changing.
Bo Wagner is pastor of the Cornerstone Baptist Church of Mooresboro, N.C., and the author of several books available at www.wordofhismouth.com. Contact him at 2knowhim@cbc-web.org.