Just what are we searching for?

     With the multi-level confusion of the world we live in battering us like waves against a small boat this is the question we ask.  Just what is it that we are searching for?  There are lots of pat answers and grandiose plans.  But what is it that captivates the very essence of our soul?  I believe that if you asked people there would be quite the spread from, "I don't know." to "world peace."  The ability of man to ask the questions of life don't equip him or her necessarily with the ability to find or even understand the answers.  Wrestling with what we search for is as old as creation itself.  Even today the most intelligent and brightest of the world as asking that question seeking to move further than where they currently live with knowledge.  Knowledge in and of itself is good, but being able to ply that knowledge into something that contributes to society takes action.  So does searching.  Action planned is not action. 
     The often quoted, "I think, therefore I am." isn't true.  Sorry all you who have believed that statement.  I'm sure it was well intended but it stops short of having any mention of what is after the thought.  I think I am rich.  My bank account says I'm not.  I think I'm handsome.  Many would think that is erroneous and egotistical.  You see, the thought alone doesn't do anything.  There can come good from thinking but only if there is application of what is found.  Don't get me wrong; there is nothing wrong with thinking.  I wish there were many more in my world who would begin thinking.  Common sense has become so rare that it's classified as a superpower!  Okay, I didn't think that one up.  I saw it somewhere.  The truth of common sense is valid.  The application of common sense takes initiative.  Common sense tells us that we can not only think but also apply what we learn.
     Just what are we searching for?  Why are we searching?  Many of us have or have had "searching" as part of our jobs or careers.  Police officers search for criminals, search crime scenes, and search for closure for victims.  Medical professionals search for ways to ease the pain of patients.  Teachers search for ways to reach this or that student or student groups.  The UPS driver searches for my address.  Why?  Because they have a job to fulfill.  There is an expectation on each and every one of us to contribute to the general well being of the world we live in.  Victor Frankel wrote a book entitled "Man's Search for Meaning."  Herein lies a truth.  We do search for meaning.  Some search for the nebulous while others search for the tangible.  When we take our thinking, move it into action, and reap the rewards, we find meaning. 
     The Bible is full of "hints", "clues", and outright "directives" as to what it takes to find out who we are and what place we have in the world we occupy.  When describing the church Jesus talks about the members of the body of believers as ALL having a place AND a task to do.  There is no room for those who don't think, act and just do nothing.  Our complacency in not engaging the search causes not only lack of personal growth but also robs those around us of the contribution we bring to the table.  Ultimately, should we continue the search, each one of us will come to understand that we are searching for fulfillment; personal and corporate.  Our identities are in the process of being completed and we are dependent on the question asked.  Just what are we searching for?