I Desire 3
We do not usually get what we desire, but that never stopped us from keep on desiring.
With time though, we discover that once we get what we desire, we immediately desire something else: bigger, higher, more expensive... etc.
Every thing we have or we get, despite how important it is, does not satisfy a profound desire that we all have deep in our heart of something more.
The only desire that will fill our hearts and fulfill all our desires is God himself.
The Holy Scripture that will accompany our third and last 'desire' journey is the story of the rich man (Mark 10:17-22).
17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’”
20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
This man has a great and profound desire: 'to inherit eternal life'. It is a very noble desire. He thinks that he owns the earthly life as he was a wealthy man and kept all the commandments since he was a boy; now he also want to earn the eternal life.
He thinks that we gain the eternal life by doing something; he does not know that the eternal life is a gift from God. We do not earn it we live it.
We do not inherit the eternal life because we keep the commandments; we get to live the eternal life because we love and are open to God’s Love.
He arrived running with lots of words in his mouth. But he left walking and mute.
The price he had to pay for following Jesus was too much for him.
He closed his heart to God’s love and preferred to remain rich but sad.
Not all God’s calls have a happy ending. Some they decide, despite God’s love, to close their hearts to God’s call and say: ‘no thank you’.
The desire will always remain there deep in their hearts, but the commitment to leave everything is too hard.
What is it ‘the one thing you lack’ today that is preventing you from answering God’s call?