During my class break, my grade 10 student came into the classroom out of nowhere, covered with dust and sweat. He asked me if he can take a little break from doing a cleaning service as a suspension for tardiness/late, and I said yes. For a short period of time, I asked him for ways that make him woke up late every morning, and what he can do to not let that happen again. And after making alibis and excuses to justify his actions, he ended up saying: I promise to wake up every morning to “study.”
Whether you’re in different walks of life, there’s always out there who motivates or forces us to do something. Every night I alarm my cell phone at 4am so that I can wake up and go to school early. But because I’m only human with weaknesses, I ended up not waking at the sound of any buzz; totally blurred from dream land or laziness. Despite that, I always make an effort to wake up anyway no matter what. I prep-up, take a jeep going to school before 6am and next thing I knew, a glimpse of sunrise is there right before my eyes, saying “have a new and awesome morning, Angel”. My desire: TO GIVE EXCELLENCE TO THE LORD.
Most of the time, it’s easier for us to do things when we desire to get something. There’s a force inside of us who pushes us to wake up every morning no matter how tired and weak you are. And I’m not just talking about morning wake-up routines. Look around and you’ll see people move to fulfill something more than just getting things done. Whether it’s a career promotion, material possessions, relationships or social status; each of us has a desire that keeps us going no matter what. Just like Pastor Joey Bonifacio said,
“People will always discover newer and better ways to live every day. Unless these discoveries turn into desires, they will remain just great ideas that do not make a lasting difference. Real desire is a strong intense of wanting something, and is so much more than clicking a ‘like’ button.”
For some of us, we lose that fire because of some circumstances. We fail, we feel hurt and for some reason, we tend to lose that force to keep going. Why is that? Because all of us wants results for everything. We just don’t wake up and do something that’s not worth of our time and effort . We want to get what we want that’s why we keep on going. It could be your paycheck, material things, achievements, reputation, acceptance, approval, anything that will make you happy. But what if your expectations are not something that you really want to be? After you ran 28 hours just to see that finish line, what if that festival area is not what you wish for? What if this person is not the one I thought you knew? What force will it take to still keep you going?
The night before Jesus captured by the Roman guards and Jewish priests, He was in deep conversation with His Heavenly Father as time draws near towards His crucifixion. As King of Kings and Lord of Lords, He could make a great flood once again (story of Noah and Great Ark) and wipe off all the wickedness and sin of mankind. He has all rights to say no to the cup of suffering and let us die in hell. But Jesus’ desire is different from all of us. And it is something huge and serious for us to comprehend. He humbled Himself and obeyed His Father because of these desires:
Love for His Father
As kids, we know we can ask anything to our fathers no matter what it is. And no matter how hard and expensive that request might be, our father will do his best to give it. If you take a grasp of that thought, as a son/daughter, you would definitely decide to do anything to love and obey your father. Because just like him, you will have the same desire: LOVE. Jesus knew His Father very well and more than that, He is the representation of an invisible God (Colossians 1:15). And despite His dreadful destiny to become the “Lamb of God” for our sake, He chooses to obey His Father because of one desire: LOVE.
Love for Sinners
Jesus knew His calling as He lives on earth just like the rest of us. Though He perfectly lived a perfect life without any hint of sin, Jesus take a bold step to be a “perfect sacrifice” for the sins you and I can’t righteously pay on our own. And despite all the pain and the shame, He chooses to have humility and obey the will of His Father. Why? Because His desires one thing that His Father desire too: YOU and ME. He thought of us more than anything else and that same desire leads us to the salvation and freedom that we have, right this moment.
Bring us back to the Father
Just like the “Prodigal Son” (Luke 15), the desire of the Father is not just to save us from our condition, but to bring us back to His kingdom. He wants us and He wants to be with us once again. If you take deeper to what God did for us, you’ll understand how high, how wide and how deep is His love for us. That pleasure is found in us, from Genesis till now. We are His first reason why He sent Jesus to died for us. So that He can be with us as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ.
It’s not bad to desire something. It runs through our system as humans and we can never take that away. But this time, take some moment if your heart truly desires the right thing. We human beings tend to live in our natural ways and because of our culture, it’s hard to discern what is righteous and true or not. That’s why Jesus Christ is here to recalibrate our paths and lead us to what we should really desire to have: A RELATIONSHIP WITH AN ALMIGHTY GOD! And this is the greatest desire everyone should live and die for.
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