‘Wants’ : Igniting Latent ‘Longings’

If the above title / theme seems rather convoluted, please bear with me, while I try to elucidate James 4 (chapter & verse), where the source of ‘life problems’ & the source of ‘life solutions’ are identified. This compilation of words – with significant initial letters – are an attempt to put understanding into a key word: WILL : which we use daily, possibly without giving full consideration to what we are doing.

Jesus, the Christ, came on earth to model ‘human living’ & – in so doing – He gave us a ‘model prayer’ (addressed to the Father) which includes the words: “Thy will be done” (Matthew 6:10). When we express these words we are activating – whether we realize it or not – our natural ‘Driver’ of life.

Humans are full of potential ‘Wants’ & ‘Longings’ i.e. ‘Desires’. These remain inactive until awakened by some outside stimulant that catches our attention. However, when they come to resonate in our conscious awareness, we are, then, confronted with a fundamental ‘Ignition’ dilemma : what WILL we do? : how WILL we act?

We have – for better or worse – entered into our personal FREEDOM zone, where we have to CHOOSE a response. WILL the deciding criterion of ‘motivation / movement’ be in favour of ‘self’ or in favour of ‘other’? It’s a critical “yes” or “no” situation. So, what guidelines do we have? Jesus offered a clear-cut answer in relation to such quanderies? He stated: “For if you choose to save your life, you will lose it, & if you lose your life for my sake, you will save it” (Luke 9:24).

This whole website touches-on aspects of our dis-functional nature & our resulting dis-connect: socially & spiritually. See, in particular, article entitled: Have you ever felt like saying: “that’s it, I give up”? The trigger-point, focused-on in that Blog, was our innate expression of selfishness: “I want” / “I don’t want”. Since there is no reciprocity / mutuality / complementarity on offer, our singular / individual / personal Desire for fulfillment usually ‘gives rise’ to negative outcomes.

So, what is the big lesson here? Life-time events keep-on repeating themselves – in terms of frustrating experiences – until we ‘cop-on’, ‘come to our senses’ & begin to re-appraise our ‘invalid way of living’. We need to note: some One is trying to teach us ‘what life is all about’ & its certainly not about ‘me, me & me’.

WILL seeks to ‘ignite / generate / deliver’ on our Desires. It is the dynamic ingredient of action. Desire & WILL operate ‘hand in hand’. They are life’s ‘movers & shakers’.

So, why is everyone not happy, if we have the right ingredients i.e. Desire & WILL: ‘how come’ we contrive to be miserable, more often than not? The simple, but not easy, answer is: we have not – really / really / really – taken into our ‘hearts / minds / souls’ what Jesus, the Christ, has prescribed in Luke 9:24 (as set-out above).

Now! to get to the nub of the mystery of ‘my’ human life: I have to address the fundamental question of all questions: “where am I going in my life?” It’s a very private question (for each & every one of us) & it comes down to this: “what type of person WILL I seek to be”? WILL I act as a ‘selfie’ (‘self-for-self’) or WILL I act ‘selflessie’ (‘self-for-other’)? The answer has ‘got to be’: “what You want, Lord, I also want; if You do not want it, neither do I”.

In summary: WILL activates Desires (whether they are: ‘good, bad or indifferent’). However – as followers of ‘Way, Truth, Life’ – we entrust same (via the Cross) to Jesus, the Christ.