Embarking on a journey of desire

Hi. It's hard to believe that we're already through half of January and the Christmas break is a distant memory. I always find the beginning of each year full of potential and expectation. What has this year in store for us?

I have to say that it seems that 2009 is already defining itself for me as a year where my hopes are not so much defined by what I accomplish or the targets I set and hit - but rather as a journey into desire. Potentially not the language you would expect a pastor to use - isn't desire something sinful? I would say back to you, it depends on what the object of your desire is.

Desire is God given. We cannot hope without desire, and we cannot desire without hope. It seems that life has a habit, if we let it, of robbing us of God given desire and God given hope. We settle for the good and not the best; we allow the busyness and routine of life to dampen and deaden our passion and desire. Yet within each of us is the longing for that 'life in all its fullness' (John 10:10) thing that Jesus promised us. We might try to satisfy this longing through a variety of material things. And while we may enjoy them for a season, we're still always left longing, aching for something more.

My own journey is increasingly being defined by the desire for more of God. John Piper wrote a book called 'Desiring God' and in it he talks about Christian hedonism - the pursuit of godly pleasure at all costs. Hedonism is a concept we might be familiar with from a secular perspective, and we would rightly discern that the selfish pursuit of pleasure, ignoring the consequences to others - does carry a cost for those we hurt in its pursuit. But Christian hedonism as far as I understand it is the pursuit of enjoying God, revelling in Him, getting lost in Him, finding our life, joy and meaning in Him. Far from wounding others, we find the opposite is true, for the more we have of God, the more His influence affects how we live our lives. As we are changed by HIs love, so too we get to pass that on to others. I like how Piper changes part of the Westminster catechism with one word. Instead of 'Man's chief aim is to glorify God AND enjoy Him forever', he writes 'Man's chief aim is to glorify God BY enjoying Him forever.' I like that.

I think, increasingly I'm understanding what it means. I know that my ability to walk in my calling, to walk in obedience to God, and to live for His glory is dependent not on my religiousity or the strength of my will. If it was, we'd be earning our way to heaven. The Pharisees would have got it right and Jesus would have got it wrong. Thank God for His grace, and His mercy. But my ability to enjoy my faith and what it calls me to is totally and completely dependent on me wanting, desiring, having Christ. It's about intimacy with Him. Paul said 'For to me, to live is Christ ...' (Phil. 1:21) It's about gaining Christ ... not success in my finances, or in promotion, or success in ministry, or in my relationship with others ... it is about me wanting, desiring, longing for Him.

David knew about such longing: "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." (Psalm 63:1) He goes on to talk about God's love being "better than life" (Psalm 63:3).

From His word we know that God can't help Himself but respond to such desire (Jer. 29:13). The story of the father in the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15 is also clear evidence of this.

I hope you'll join me this year on this journey of desire. As ther Psalmist writes "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4)

Mark