Panting

Compare the shriveled life held up as a model of Christian maturity with the life revealed in the book of Psalms:

You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (16:11)

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? (42:1–2)

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you;
My soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land, where there is no water. (63:1)

Ask yourself, could this person be promoted to a position of leadership in my church? Heavens, no. He is far too unstable, to passionate, too desirous. It’s all about pleasure and desire and thirst. And David, who wrote most of the psalms, was called by God a “man after his own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14).

Christianity has nothing to say to the person who is completely happy with the way things are. Its message is for those who hunger and thirst — for those who desire life as it was meant to be. Why does Jesus appeal to desire? Because it is essential to his goal: bringing us life. He heals the fellow at the pool of Bethesda, by the way. The two blind men get their sight, and the woman at the well finds the love she has been seeking. Reflecting on these events, the apostle John looked at what Jesus offered and what he delivered and said: “He who has the Son has life” (1 John 5:12).

Want more? Order your copy of The Journey of Desire today