Desire & How To Begin The New Year

“We sin, not because our desires are too strong, but because they are too weak.”

-CS Lewis

I have found myself, as I often do during the holidays, revisiting some old books that have brought me great joy over the years. As some folks can take pleasure in watching a movie or a sit-com more than once – I find that I am that way with good books. Over the past few days I have re-read the Space Trilogy of C.S. Lewis for the eighth or ninth time and have once more been carried away by the depth and texture of good words and ideas finely crafted.

The unifying theme of much of Lewis’ writings can be summed up as: “rightful desires, rightly understood, & rightly sought.” In speaking and writing so much of desire, Lewis places himself within the tradition of Augustine and his famous line about our souls being forever without rest until they find their rest in God. In other words – the restlessness, that sense of incompleteness that we experience as human-beings – is a sign that directs us to desire. If there is a hole within our inner being, then that means there must be a remedy for that inner lostness. The desire itself suggests a remedy.

Lewis fought hard against the trendy and popular use of the term “desire” being placed in the hands of Freudian psychologists and other sciences. Mere sexuality – one expression of desire – does not fulfill. In fact, wrongly practiced, it only increases the void and the sense of alienation within our inner world. One only need note the difference between the raunchy, predatory sex of Hollywood compared with the presentation of desire crafted for us in the Song of Solomon. One debases sex to a bodily function – cut-off from any pre or post-history between the participants – a sexual sneeze. The Song of Solomon describes a mountain ascending path of soul-mates.

What is my point? It is very simple. The word “desire” in the hands of modern man is somehow associated with “naughty” or forbidden. This tendency annoyed and angered Lewis to no end because he firmly believed that “desire” was a tool of heaven to win us over. He referred to desire as “patches of Godlight.” Lewis said that we sin - not because our desires are too strong - but because our desires are too weak.

Think of it this way – when was the last time you were “pierced by beauty?” Was it recently when you found yourself gazing out of your house and witnessing a world of freshly fallen snow and pausing just a moment to take it in? (That is, before your adult mind set in and thought of the cold, the frosted car and the slick roads). Or, was it when you held a newborn baby and the baby smiled, cooed and wiggled in your arms? (That is, before your adult mind set in and worried if the baby was going to “urp” up on your sweater, or some other “knowledgeable” adult mentioned in passing, that babies only smile because they have gas). Perhaps you were fortunate enough, as I once was, to witness a bald eagle diving with great acceleration into a mountain lake, lifting an explosion of water, and ascending just a moment later with a fine trout in his talons. The brilliant flash of awe I felt at that moment – while difficult to describe and impossible to recapture – whispered of a place where such beauties exist continuously in worlds without end.

The moment of each of these events usually is just a flash, a longing, a piercing of the heart, an overload of our emotions – and a desire that things would stay like this - if not forever, then at least for a few moments. These are all significant events. Notice the first four letters in the word “significant”, i.e., “sign.” A significant event is a sign event. Signs are not meant to stop us – they are meant to direct us to a destination. When you think about it, a “Stop” sign is really a controlled “Go” sign. If one took the sign literally, one would never move.

And so, I would like us to think about the New Year ahead of us from the standpoint of desire. To proceed, we must understand the word itself. When we break down the word “desire” in the English language, we find that it comes from the Latin root: “de” – meaning “from” and “sediris” meaning “star.” To put it roughly, a desire is something placed within us from above. That is “sign”ificant.

Many of us have ignored the good desires sent from above for a couple of reasons. One, which I have already mentioned, is the corruption associated with the word itself by modern depth psychology. Freud’s influence, associating every motive and action with some deep, latent sexual desire – has caused us to shy away from this good and noble word. The other reason, equally as common, is the sense that thinking too much about desire is somehow, not very responsible. It is okay for young people, without bills to pay, and so forth to dream a bit – but at some point we need to get on with the real business of living: mowing lawns, changing the oil in the car, showing up for jobs we hate, getting the dishes done, digesting the news of the day...

Yet...if these desires are really from above – from God Himself – is it not a little obvious that they might be worthy of pursuit? Can you not, for at least a moment, imagine that the desire – which is a sign from heaven – is pointing you to that place of abundance and fruitfulness for which you were created? Are we destined for mere existence or are we destined for abundance. Jesus promised the latter.

The parable of the minas – where the Master gave to three servants a measure of wealth to steward in his absence - is a great illustration of what I am trying to convey. Two of the servants took that which was deposited within them and did something with it. The third servant never acted – he merely existed, he just “got by” – and in the end he lost everything. A life lived without consideration of the true desires within us is a life that rejects that gift from above. This is serious stuff. Allow me to share a few verses of Scripture that speak to this issue of desire:

“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4

“What the wicked dreads will overtake him. What the righteous desires will be granted.”
Proverbs 10:24

“You have granted him the desires of his heart and have not withheld the requests of his lips.” Psalm 21:2

“All of my desire lies open before you, Lord; my sighing is not hidden from You.”
Psalm 38:9

“Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You.”
Psalm 73:25

“You open Your hands and satisfy the desires of every living thing....He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him.” Psalm 145:16, 19a

“The desire of the righteous ends only in good...” Proverbs 11:23

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life...A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul.” Proverbs 13:12, 19a

“What a man desires is unfailing love...” Proverbs 19:22

“...Your name and renown are the desires of our heart.” Isaiah 26:8b

“And desire spiritual gifts...” I Cor. 14:1

CONCLUSIONS – ALMOST!
So, let’s come to some conclusions. First of all, we can see in these few verses an obvious connection between loving God – desiring God – and having our God given desires met. The two are inseparable. We cannot really know ourselves and the desires that God has placed within us until we know and love Him. The desires within – which lead to great joy, fulfillment and prosperity of soul and body – are all tied up with Him. If we do not desire God we will not have – or probably even know - our own desires. We will be left to muddle along with a survivor mentality without realizing that in our pockets we carry the keys to the Kingdom.

A GREAT STORY OF DESIRE
But having said that – let me share a brief story. There is a famous artist by the name of Deborah Crone who lives in Vacaville, CA. A few short years ago no one had heard of her. The only paintbrush that Deb had picked up was the kind that painted hallways and bedrooms. One Christmas, her husband Dave – a Pastor - invited his whole family to a retreat prior to the beginning of the New Year. Pastor Dave had prayed that God would reveal to everyone in the family the dreams and the desires that were heaven-sent for each one of them. It took awhile to get people talking – especially Deborah. She was used to helping others and suppressing her own dreams and desires because – as she put it – she was a responsible person. Finally, she told her family that she had a desire to be an artist and that her paintings would hang in the finest galleries in the world. Her family not only began to pray for those desires to be fulfilled, they went out and purchased mom some canvas and paint supplies. Within a year – Deb’s paintings were not only hanging in famous galleries around the world, she had become one of the highest paid and most sought after artists in California and Hawaii. (You can see her work at this link: http://www.sargentsfineart.com/artist/crone.php). I was privileged to be able to meet with Dave & Deb on a recent trip to California and what struck me the most was how normal and down to earth this couple was. They both are living a joyful, fruitful, purposeful life because they were courageous enough to speak from their heart those dreams and desires that God had placed within them. With the money that Deb makes, she and her husband support orphanages and countless missionaries around the world. That too had been a desire of their heart – to be generous to the poor. One desire has helped fulfill the other desire.

THE REAL CONCLUSION
In conclusion, I suggest the following:
1. Seek the Father and talk to Him about your desires – those heaven-sent treasures that He has placed within you.
2. Get together with your family or some good Christian friends and spend some time praying and speaking forth your desires.
3. Receive...let others speak into your life, sow into your life, prophesy into your life what God tells them in regard to your desires.
4. Act – sooner rather than later. If you pray for rain, start carrying an umbrella. If you desire to paint, buy some paint supplies. If you desire to make music, visit the music store. Your desires will begin to drive your values and the stewardship of your resources of time, treasure and talent.
5. And – go with God. Your Father wants to delight you by giving you the desires of your heart. His purposes work well through happy contented children. The world does not “desire” grumpy followers of God. The world is drawn to the fulfilled.

Much Love,
CJ Alderton
Patrick Crossing

Meditations On The Word, Faith, Part 5

Somewhere in the dusty recesses of my mind is some unknown preacher, with a spare chin or two, shaking his head and speaking with a deep tremolo voice about some friend of his who was a: “Great man of faith.” I cannot remember who the preacher was or who his friend was. I just remember the Billy goat flair he inserted in his voice when he said that line: “Greeaaaat maaaannnn of faaaaiiiith” and the undulating waddle beneath his original chin as he moved his head from side to side. I had many such views from the pew as a child.

Having read the Bible now for many years I have become more and more enamored with the profound truth that Jesus spoke when He said: “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed – then that is enough to cause a mountain to be uprooted and flung into the sea.” To take this passage literally would rob it of its real usefulness and purpose. I have a lot of mountains within view of the desk from which I write. I have never tried to uproot them because I sort of like them where they are. But, the real intent of this image that Jesus painted was to simply contrast something very small with something very large and ostensibly impossible to budge. The power inherent in a tiny seed could in fact dislocate and disburse large, impossible barriers. And, He seemed to me to be saying that the “Great man of faith” wasn’t really the issue. The issue was the small faith pointed in the right direction and placed in the right power and the right resource. This “big God” could dispatch efficiently and effectively a miraculous answer to any situation were we predisposed to simply take the faith we had been given and place it in Him.

But, what if you question whether or not you even own a seedling of faith? How depressing to think that one might be lacking even that speck of which Jesus spoke. And, if that is the case – how then can we grow our faith to the point that we begin to see things happen that are explained only in terms of the supernatural hand of God at work? I believe the answer is very simple – at least in terms of an explanation. Let’s give it a go…

One of the more misunderstood and therefore “underpreached” passages of Scripture is found in the Book of James. James, an apostolic father of the Jerusalem church, makes a simple statement that has caused spirited theological debates and church splits ever since he penned these words: “Faith, if it has no works, is dead.” What on earth did James mean by this statement? I would like to suggest that he meant this: Faith, if it has no works, is dead. “How helpful,” you say. Well, it really is, especially if you desire to have and experience the type of faith that actually gets things done – that moves mountains.

Before I move on and explain this verse, let me tell you why it has caused so much commotion over the years. You see, those of us who are the heirs of the Protestant tradition are steeped in the rich heritage of the rediscovery of the revelation that we are saved by grace through faith – not by works. They feel that this verse undermines that great doctrine if taken literally.

Now, I agree wholeheartedly with the doctrine of ‘saved by grace through faith’. There is no good work that we can do that will “earn” for us a spot on the team. Grace does it all. But, the point that James is making is that grace does do something. A God encounter through grace is by its very definition, a transformative moment. Grace doesn’t just change things – it changes everything. Grace points us in a new direction with a new heart and with a new purpose. If what you refer to as your faith moment, your conversion, has left you as sullen, sinful, nasty, and purposeless as before, then there is a good chance – an almost certain chance - that your “faith” was not faith at all.

True faith always comes with a positive and negative call which grows and widens as one matures in the faith journey. God really does begin to speak at conversion – even at pre-conversion - of some things in us which must be ejected and left behind. That is a negative. And, the list of negative things that He will require of us to be removed will continue throughout this life. At first, the list of negatives will be obvious not only to you, but to those around you. If you were a self-centered, self-absorbed, foul-mouthed, inebriated jerk – well, it is pretty obvious that that will have to go. But, as we move on, His demands on our inner purity become more nuanced. He starts whittling away at the very core of our being, our motives, and our secret thoughts. His purpose is to make us good on the inside so that our thoughts mirror perfectly His thoughts.

He also calls us to new and greater goods. That is a positive. These goods quite often go hand in hand with giving up something. For me, it often has to do with my preferences and my conveniences and my comforts. God calls me to love my enemies, to forgive my enemies, to give water to the thirsty, to feed the poor, clothe the naked, and to visit the prisoner. Each of these good things He calls me to do requires a payment of some kind that is deducted from my pride, my rights, and my resources. All of these can put a real crunch on my daily campaigns and the relentless pursuit of my own “space”, comfort, and plans.

The point that I am making is that faith is something like a muscle that needs to be exercised or it will quickly atrophy. One cannot have faith to move a mountain if one does not exercise the faith to obey. The two are inseparable. People who wonder why their prayers remain unanswered oftentimes need only look to the operation and exercise of their faith on a moment by moment basis. Are you defeating the wicked thoughts that bombard your mind each moment? Or, are you allowing those thoughts a dark place to reproduce like a mold in your spirit? Are you learning to let go of this world and to grow in radical generosity because you are becoming more and more rooted in the true soil of a different kingdom? Or, are you becoming more and more attached to things of this world – which will pass away - and declaring with greater frequency the word “mine” over a growing hoard of objects, widgets, and self-centered pursuits?

You see - faith is not a static thing. It grows or it dies. A testimony that is 30 years old is fine and dandy so long as there is 30 years of fresh testimony that follow. But, if you place your “faith in your faith” – in an event of 30, 20, 10, 5, or 1 year ago without any fresh report of God’s activity in your life – then there is nothing with which God can work. There is an obedience today – this very moment – which requires faith and which faith requires. To not move with and toward the inner nudge indicates a lack of faith - something less than the seed.

(Okay – here I must stop simply because of length. But, there is much left to say to complete these thoughts, so – stay tuned and be blessed. –CJ)