Desire

Desire. The very word strikes a cord of fear in the religious mind. Christianity, along with almost all other major religions of the world, has long taught that desire is an evil thing. Two of Christianity's foremost religious compatriots, Hinduism and Buddhism, see desire as the source of all ailment in life and they teach that the eradication of desire can lead to a state of perfection, a 'nirvana'. Traditional Christianity sees desire as a weed that must be uprooted from the soul. It equates desire with lust and greed; and it often considers a person with desires to be a lost sheep, a sinner who is in love with the 'world'. The pious life espoused by a great many segments of the Christian world is one that holds desire to be contrary to the very tenets of the 'humble faith'. These three world religions all see desire as a selfish and evil attribute, one which needs to be suppressed and exorcised where ever it is found. And, all three religions stand in stark contrast to Torah truth. The God of the Bible actually teaches that desire is a necessary and positive element in life, that a man without desire is a man lost in purpose and meaning. The Torah teaches that a person without desire cannot ever please God or even find God. Shocking, isn't it? Desire is elemental to 'free will' and 'free will' is an essential component in making mankind the image of God. The fallen and corrupted mind of man equates desire with lust and covetousness, and that fleshly side does exist in the ungodly. However, among the believers of God desire is a form of worship; it is a willingness to seek the presence of justice and righteousness where such do not exist, it is a longing for answered prayers, a knowledge that states wrongs must be righted. Desire, it is a product of hope. And, as Paul wrote, "And hope maketh not ashamed..." Romans 5:5 Religion teaches people to feel guilty about desiring a betterment of things and circumstances, but the God of Torah wants us to seek, to desire, to work towards a fulfillment of longing. He wants us to want things to be better than they are, for our selves and for everyone else. In fact, God desires to be the believer's ultimate longing and desire in life. Desire is a holy thing, it lives in all people and its presence is the first step in receiving the fullness of His intent for us. God prods us towards longing for the better, towards seeking the tikkun, to desire that which is good. He desires us to stretch out and seek after that which is righteous and pleasing to Him. To be born again we must ask for it. To be filled with His Spirit we must ask for it. To see souls enter the Kingdom we must ask for it. To see the sick healed we must desire it. We must desire; we must want. Only then can He fulfill. It is a part of every person, desire is, but without God we are destined to desire amiss and we'll seek to squander His creation only upon ourselves. With Him desiring is an act of holiness, a result of realizing that something is not as He would have it be; a knowing that a given situation must be changed and made right. Have the courage to desire a righting of the wrongs in your life and in this world. For such is pleasing unto God. The fathers did so, the prophets did so, Yeshua did so: and now so must you. We need to realize that the desire, the longing, to see things made right is given to us by God. Recognize the problem and seek the solution, desire it. "For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness." Psalms 107:9 In Genesis 3:16 we see that desire was an essential element in the redemption plan of God. Psalms 145:16+19 tell us that the Lord will satisfy the desires of every living thing, and that He will fulfill the desire of them that fear Him. "Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." Mark 11:24 "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life." Proverbs 13:12