WHAT DO YOU WANT?-Part One
In advocating for Community Transformation, the answer to this question is crucial. Community Transformation is not a massive sweep of the Holy Spirit across a community forcing change. Rather, transformation begins as people seriously reflect on answering this question. Take a moment and ask yourself the question, what do I really want? The second question is “your life choices and the production of your life, do they reflect the answer to the first question?” What does the Bible say about the “wants of my life?”
Jesus establishes his understanding of our needs in the dialogue recorded for us in Matthew 6:31-33 "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” In these words, Jesus acknowledges how important the simplest necessities are to our lives. Food, drink, and clothing are the most basic elements of life. The recent events in Haiti, the media’s coverage focused on the importance of food, drink, and clothing as the necessities for survival. Jesus speaks of food as the sustenance, drink as the hydration, and clothing as the most basic form of shelter, all for the physical body. Jesus is speaking to needs for continued survival to people aware of famine and poverty. Jesus powerfully states “…your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” God understands the necessities of life. However, in our 21st Century environment are our wants more complex, more defined by societal connections, scientific discoveries, and a consumerism based financial structure? Are we defining the wants of our life as necessities of life?
The pursuits of our lives are more complicated and interconnected with our definitions of life. We have created a broader definition of life, adding more “wants” to the basic needs of our lives.
Let us consider the deep emotional/psychological basic needs of being human.
1. Love
2. Relationships
3. Acceptance
4. Purpose
Are not these wants consist with Scripture, therefore is not the pursuit of these needs justified?
Let us consider the greater compliments to life as a whole.
1. Community
2. Personal Growth
3. Social Development
4. Achievement/Success
Are not these wants of great value to life, therefore their fulfillment reasonable human activity?
Let us consider the stimulants of life that usher in fruitfulness.
1. Intellectual Growth
2. Financial Achievement
3. Scientific Discovery
4. Invention and Application
Are not these individual and corporate labors necessary for the prosperity of the community, therefore, imperative effort?
Somewhere in this expanded list of needs, we can find ourselves laboring to fulfill these needs as individuals or corporately as families or communities. However, is the pursuit of achievement for the sake of personal fulfillment consistent with God’s destiny for our lives? The words of Jesus in the Sermon of the Mount teach us something radically different! Those elements we identify as necessities of life, the priorities of our pursuit, are not the source of a quality life or the keys to a whole and well community. Quite the opposite, Jesus declares to us that the fulfillment of life centers in a more narrowly define pursuit for our individual lives. Jesus states, “…33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you…”
These words of Jesus transcend all of our understanding of the necessities of life. These words are authoritative, moving these very words from an ethical discussion to words defining the purpose of our lives. Jesus was very serious about our single focus on the seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
The Gospel of Mark documents for us, “Jesus answered him, ‘The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. 30 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with your entire mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment.” (Mark 12:29-31 29) Reflect on the totality of our humanity engaged in loving God.
In Matthew 6:24 Jesus states, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” There is no compromise or tolerance in the words of Jesus.
Joshua teaches us “Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Josh 24:14-15) These are commanding words, direct words and instructional words from Joshua; words that we cannot ignore for our personal lives. Clearly in the Gospels and Old Testament, the Bible substantiate that God is our sole priority.
To seek the kingdom of God, how does that translate into action in our contemporary environment? Seeking in this specific text is the sense of coveting earnestly, of striving after. To seek is:
1. A focused objective
2. Hungry to possess
3. Labor to obtain
As an individual, how would your life priorities change if your sole focused objective, your daily hunger, and your labor was to possess the very kingdom of God and the inherited righteousness? What would be the implications for all your relationships, especially with God and second the community at large? Without individuals desperate for the Kingdom of God and the inherited righteousness, there can be no community transformation. Only when God is at the core of my hunger will I be transformed.
by Grace Alone!
Jesus establishes his understanding of our needs in the dialogue recorded for us in Matthew 6:31-33 "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” In these words, Jesus acknowledges how important the simplest necessities are to our lives. Food, drink, and clothing are the most basic elements of life. The recent events in Haiti, the media’s coverage focused on the importance of food, drink, and clothing as the necessities for survival. Jesus speaks of food as the sustenance, drink as the hydration, and clothing as the most basic form of shelter, all for the physical body. Jesus is speaking to needs for continued survival to people aware of famine and poverty. Jesus powerfully states “…your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” God understands the necessities of life. However, in our 21st Century environment are our wants more complex, more defined by societal connections, scientific discoveries, and a consumerism based financial structure? Are we defining the wants of our life as necessities of life?
The pursuits of our lives are more complicated and interconnected with our definitions of life. We have created a broader definition of life, adding more “wants” to the basic needs of our lives.
Let us consider the deep emotional/psychological basic needs of being human.
1. Love
2. Relationships
3. Acceptance
4. Purpose
Are not these wants consist with Scripture, therefore is not the pursuit of these needs justified?
Let us consider the greater compliments to life as a whole.
1. Community
2. Personal Growth
3. Social Development
4. Achievement/Success
Are not these wants of great value to life, therefore their fulfillment reasonable human activity?
Let us consider the stimulants of life that usher in fruitfulness.
1. Intellectual Growth
2. Financial Achievement
3. Scientific Discovery
4. Invention and Application
Are not these individual and corporate labors necessary for the prosperity of the community, therefore, imperative effort?
Somewhere in this expanded list of needs, we can find ourselves laboring to fulfill these needs as individuals or corporately as families or communities. However, is the pursuit of achievement for the sake of personal fulfillment consistent with God’s destiny for our lives? The words of Jesus in the Sermon of the Mount teach us something radically different! Those elements we identify as necessities of life, the priorities of our pursuit, are not the source of a quality life or the keys to a whole and well community. Quite the opposite, Jesus declares to us that the fulfillment of life centers in a more narrowly define pursuit for our individual lives. Jesus states, “…33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you…”
These words of Jesus transcend all of our understanding of the necessities of life. These words are authoritative, moving these very words from an ethical discussion to words defining the purpose of our lives. Jesus was very serious about our single focus on the seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
The Gospel of Mark documents for us, “Jesus answered him, ‘The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. 30 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with your entire mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment.” (Mark 12:29-31 29) Reflect on the totality of our humanity engaged in loving God.
In Matthew 6:24 Jesus states, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” There is no compromise or tolerance in the words of Jesus.
Joshua teaches us “Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Josh 24:14-15) These are commanding words, direct words and instructional words from Joshua; words that we cannot ignore for our personal lives. Clearly in the Gospels and Old Testament, the Bible substantiate that God is our sole priority.
To seek the kingdom of God, how does that translate into action in our contemporary environment? Seeking in this specific text is the sense of coveting earnestly, of striving after. To seek is:
1. A focused objective
2. Hungry to possess
3. Labor to obtain
As an individual, how would your life priorities change if your sole focused objective, your daily hunger, and your labor was to possess the very kingdom of God and the inherited righteousness? What would be the implications for all your relationships, especially with God and second the community at large? Without individuals desperate for the Kingdom of God and the inherited righteousness, there can be no community transformation. Only when God is at the core of my hunger will I be transformed.
by Grace Alone!
The answer to your question is that yes most unquestionable my life would be transformed. The major problem is that many of us live life without purpose . The purpose of life is far greater than my personal fulfillment. It's far greater than family, career, our my ambitions. Most people don't know why God placed them on this earth. We must begin with God. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible everything got started in Him and finds its purpose to Him. Colossians 1:16
ReplyDeleteWithout God there is no purpose and without purpose , life has no meaning . Without meaning life has no significance or hope. Isaiah complained, " I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing". Job said, "My life drags by day after hopeless day" and "I give up I am tired of living. Leave me alone My life makes no sense". The greatest tragedy is not death, BUT life without purpose.
Know our purpose prepares us for eternity. Many spend their lives trying to create a lasting legacy on earth. They want to be remember when they are gone. Yet, what ultimately matters most will not be what others say about our life it will be what GOD says.
What did you do with what I gave you? God will ask. All the talents, gifts, opportunities, energy, relationships, and resources God gave you? Did you spend them on yourself or did you use them for the purpose God made you for?
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:2