I am the currently a first year intern in theExperience College internship. I’m quite a simple homie. I love Jesus. I really think the biggest fight for number one in my life is Jesus and food. I am proud to confess I also love girlie drinks and I don’t care who knows about it. That’s all.
What does God REALLY want?
Have you ever wondered what God wants the most? Have you ever just taken time out of your day to think, “Hmmm, what is the number one thing God wants from my life?” I think people, despite being a Jesus-follower or not, have asked themselves a question similar to the one I am portraying today. If you are a human being, you have a purpose, and, ultimately, that is what your life is searching for.
Speaking from my own Jesus-following perspective, my view on what God really wants has gotten skewed through time and experience. When the question of what God really wants is brought to my attention, my natural instinct is to think of some form of work – like reading my Bible more, praying for my family, or sharing the gospel with non-Jesus followers; but I think I lead myself away from what the truth really is. Though doing things like doing ministry is good, and we should be incorporating these disciplines in our relationship with Jesus. God has been teaching me that those are not His priority for my life.
As I have been reading through the Old Testament, specifically the Samuel’s, King’s, and Chronicle’s, God has been radically shifting my mind when I think about the main purpose of my life. Reflecting on the lives of those kings and prophets who ended well, I come to find the a common theme in all of their lives. Though they did amazing things for God, they all gave up their lives to God. Their primary focus was to constantly place their lives on the altar.
Fast forward to Jesus, one day Jesus was asked, “What is the greatest commandment?” Essentially what is happening is someone is saying, “Yo Jesus, what does God really want? What is the most important thing to Him?” The golden question, right? And his response totally blows me away. Jesus simply says, “Just love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. Yeah, that’s what my Pops wants the most from humanity.”
WHAT? This changes everything! Jesus Himself tells us that God is looking for people who will enter into relationship with Him, not just another religious way of living. At times we make our relationship all about “what do I need to do” with all these works in mind, but Jesus suggests that we should consider “what do I need to give up.” You see, I have come to discover that God is not looking for those who will just do all the right things, but He is looking for those who will give Him their heart. And it is from a heart that is truly surrendered that real life change can be produced personally and publicly.
So I encourage you, if you are in a relationship with Jesus and seek to grow closer to him, don’t start off with thinking about what you should do to fix the issue, but go to Jesus with your whole heart – the good, the broken, and the ugly – and give it up! And that is where I believe you will experience the most satisfying peace and freedom. Brothers and sisters, the best days are still ahead of us. Give up your hearts, so you do not miss out on them.