Desire

Do we hear the good news? Do we understand what the good news is? Do we understand what happens if we really hear, accept, and understand the good news? The good news is the message of the kingdom, the kingdom of God, but not the kingdom as we might think about it. The kingdom is knowing that we are loved, accepted, and cared for by the Creator. This includes that we been given dreams and desires that are from that Creator. God wants us to follow those dreams and desires, to make them real, to live beyond our wildest dreams.

At about that same time Jesus left the house and sat on the beach. In no time at all a crowd gathered along the shoreline, forcing him to get into a boat. Using the boat as a pulpit, he addressed his congregation, telling stories.
"What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn't put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.

Matthew 13:1-8

So where does the seed, the Good News, of Jesus land with you? Does it fall on the road, the gravel, or in the weeds? Do your desires get eaten up, burned up, or choked out? What I mean, is do you have these dreams and desires that God has given you to live and these dreams and desires get killed by something? We all have a tendency to get caught up in what we think are the "right" things to do and this chokes out the dream. We get worried about being good fathers, mothers, providers, financial concerns, making sure things are safe for ourselves and familes, and that we can be sure we are doing well. This leads to a choking, burning, eating of the dreams that God has given us. We begin to do the same things everyday - wake up, eat, work, care the kids, watch television, think about doing it again the next day, sleep and get up and do it all again! Desire leaves us and we live our life in a mundane, worried, and bored state.

We need to let the Good News be planted in our lives to give us confidence. We need to be "good earth." If we are, we can believe that Jesus came to do what he said:

"I'll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn't listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

John 10:6-10

So do we belive that we will be cared for? If we truly follow Jesus, if we truly hear the good news, and if we truly go through the gate, then we will have a life that is better than we could ever dream of! Do not let the desires and dreams of your heart, that God has scattered there, die! The kingdom of God is within you! (See post on Revolution) We bring the kingdom of God to earth, not an earthly kingdom as we would think, but a kingdom that brings joy, peace, love, and kindness to people. This only comes by not letting our desires die. Live your desires today. Do not get caught up in the mundane of the world. Give your dreams and your desires some water. Weed those dreams and protect them from the sun. Let them flurish and bring the good news to everyone. Live!

Namaste'