Streetcar Named Desire

Longing,
wanting,
desire...
words that evoke images of passionate love, words that we associate with romance novels, not God. Our problem is that we are so satiated with the lusts of this world, we have drowned out the hunger for what will truly satisfy. We long for shiny new cars; we want chocolate caramel brownies; we desire that head over heels in love feeling all the time.

The average Christian attends church on Sunday in a haze, the words of the songs going no deeper than the vocal chords and the words from the pulpit grazing their heads. With smiles all around, handshakes and appropriate attire, the church looks healthy enough, but where is the DESIRE?

I want deliberately to encourage this mighty longing after God. The lack of it has brought us to our present low estate. The stiff and wooden quality about our religious lives is a result of our lack of holy desire. Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth. Acute desire must be present or there will be no manifestation of Christ to His people. He waits to be wanted. Too bad that with many of us He waits for long, so very long, in vain."
~A.W.Tozer~

I want to be holy, I want to have peace, I want to know the Bible, but do I desire JESUS? I see few people with this kind of longing - a longing after the heart of God. Not longing to be more religious, but longing to know Him. Nothing else will satisfy. That's what I call being passionate and wholly devoted.

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the the law that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. Philippians 3:7-10

Paul's passion for Jesus drips from every word in these verses and it is contagious. These are my life verses - I want my life to be defined by a passionate pursuit of Christ, forsaking all other "loves" in this world.

Our hostess this week is Debbie at Chocolate and Coffee - visit her to see more excellent writing on this topic.