If we were created by God, then the desires
that we have are, at their roots, something both attainable and good. However,
we have twisted and perverted much of these desires much of the time, so that
they no longer serve the ends for which we were created. If we focus on
fulfilling desires in a godly manner (say, by making worship of God in life as
our main focal point), we will find that life can be much more satisfying. What
do I mean here?
Take, for example, our Western culture’s
desire to be famous. All many of us want is to become YouTube famous, or be
part of a viral video, or become a sought-after singer, model, or
actor/actress. This often leads us to think, say, and do a variety of things
that are, shall we say, less than godly. It often leads us toward
self-centeredness, and our character suffers. How can this desire be something
good?
Simply put, I believe this desire to be
famous is fundamentally a desire to be
known. And this desire to be known is a perfectly normal response to the
way in which we have been designed. On the Christian story, we were made to be
in a loving relationship with God, our Creator and Father. Humans are made in
his image, to know him and to be known by him. Further, we were made
to live in community with other humans. We were made to know them and to be
known by them. So it only makes sense that God would create us with this
desire.
“Now wait a minute,” you might be saying.
“There’s a big difference between the desire to know and be known (with respect
to God and others) and just wanting to be famous.” That’s absolutely correct.
Since humanity is lost—since we all have sinned, or failed morally—we have a
tendency to have twisted desires. Instead of desiring to know and be known by God
and others, we desire to be known by all, to serve our own ends.
But this is where the Gospel provides hope.
Where all we have to look forward to, from culture’s perspective, is being
known by a certain amount of people for our own purposes, and nothing greater,
God provided a way to get back to that great design, that great purpose—in the
person and work of Jesus of Nazareth. What do you think about Jesus? Would you
want to follow him? Would you want to trust him? If you don’t know much about
him, check out this really brief video:
3-Circles Life Conversation Guide Demonstration from North American Mission Board on Vimeo.
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