Is there a good way to search for strings in Messages?

Now that everyone seems to eschew email in favor of communicating via text messages, you'd think we might get some of the tools (which are so useful in email land) needed to manage a large volume of text message communications. Think folders, advanced searching, automated forwarding, etc.

At the moment, all I want to do is be able to launch the Messages app on my laptop and type something into the search box and have it work. Nothing. What good is it? Want to search by contact name or phone number -- nothing. I would like to also be able to search for text strings within the giant pile of text messages. Is there a way? What am I missing? The search box in the Messages app on the iPhone seems to work. Problem is, sync via iCloud for Messages doesn't work very well at all and there are often messages on one device which aren't on the other (IMAP works for email; get it together with text message, Apple!)

Why doesn't Search in Messages work on my laptop?