In Luke 22:24-30 the disciples are arguing about who is the
greatest and Jesus describes to them what it means to be great in the Kingdom
of God. It is important to notice that Jesus does not rebuke them for desiring
to be great or even to be the greatest. Instead, He simply redefines what it
means to attain greatness and then basically tells them that their desire for
greatness will be fulfilled. The Father’s inheritance involves authority and
prestige. There was nothing wrong with the disciples’ desire for greatness. The
problem was that they understood and pursued greatness the way the rest of the
world does, according to their own understanding.
Our heart desires and longs for many things, and innately there
is no wickedness in our desires. The problem is that our flesh has taken what
is good and holy and shaped our understanding of our desires apart from the
holy God that placed them into our hearts. It is our sinful flesh that steers
us to seek fulfillment everywhere else except with God.
Galatians 5:16-26 say, “the flesh lusts against the Spirit,
and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so
that you do not do the things that you wish”. What is the difference between desire
and lust? The difference between the two is the instigator (the motivator) and
the object. The Spirit desires what is good, while the flesh lusts for what is
forbidden or distorted.
Consider the works of the flesh vs the fruit of the Spirit.
Our flesh takes the beautiful holy desire for love and
intimacy and turns it into adultery, fornication, lewdness, idolatry…Consider
a man’s desire for intimacy and love. It is a beautiful holy desire placed in
our hearts by the Lord. But our flesh leads us to pursue its fulfillment in the
world, the way the world defines it. As a result, man is faced with much
disappointment and unsatisfaction. People go from one mate to another. There is
a desperate cry of loneliness and heartbreak coming from almost every heart…God
created us to be desired and loved. He has defined love for us through the life
and death of Christ. He has loved us with an everlasting love, and He wants us
to enjoy His love. Fulfillment and satisfaction of this desire can
only be met by God and the through the ways that God intended: through
communion with Him, through meaningful friendships, and through the holy
institution of marriage and family.
Our flesh takes the holy desire for greatness and turns
it into selfish ambition. Consider a man’s desire for riches or power. If
boiled down the man basically desires greatness, but the way the world defines
it. The world defines greatness as prosperity in possessions, as power and
authority over men…Men seek those things but do not find satisfaction. That is
because they seek fulfillment apart from God and they seek greatness the way
the world defines it. God’s definition of greatness is completely different.
Jesus told His disciples: “whoever desires to become great among you, let
him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your
slave…” (Matthew 20:26-27). Jesus explains to us what it means to pursue
greatness – through serving others in humility. The place of honor and
authority in the Kingdom of God is given to the humble servants (Luke
22:29-30). The flesh corrupts our desire for greatness with selfishness (hence “selfish
ambition”) while God defines greatness as selflessness.
Our flesh takes the holy desire for beauty an makes it an
idol. God never says in scripture that a woman should not care about her
appearance, but he does say that we should care more about maintaining our
spiritual beauty, which is the life and character of Christ being formed in us
(1 Peter 3:3-4). If we make outward beauty a priority over first seeking the
beautify of Christ to be formed in us, we are seeking beauty apart from God and
are committing idolatry. We will never be satisfied with our outward beauty until
we find fulfillment in the true beauty of Christ being formed in us.
Finally, our flesh takes the God-given desire for
pleasure and adventure and turns it into drunkenness, revelries, gluttony, adultery,
use of pornography... God wants us to enjoy life. He wants us to have fun and
enjoy ourselves. We see this to be true from the very beginning, when God made
Eden for man to live in, take care of, and enjoy with Him. We will only find true joy and satisfaction if
we enjoy life with and for God. The
pleasures of this world apart from Him are unsatisfying and have the potential
of becoming addictions. But when we enjoy different pleasures and benefits of
this world as a gift from God and the way God intended it, we will experience
fulfilling joy.
The beautiful God-given desires for beauty, pleasure, love,
greatness, adventure, and purpose that are implanted in us as image bearers of
God have been corrupted by our flesh that lusts against the Spirit. The flesh
lusts to be apart from God, to not be under His influence and lordship. The
flesh wants to control us, and it steers us into seeking fulfillment apart from
God.
“…those who are
Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in
the Spirit” (vs.24-25).
The good news is that those who have placed their trust in
Christ have “crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” for separation
from God, for fulfilment apart from Him. Though the flesh and this world can
still steer us to seek fulfillment outside of God, they no longer have control
over us and over our eternal destiny. Ultimately, as we entrust ourselves and
our desires to God, seeking fulfillment in Him we are breaking and demolishing
the influence of the flesh and this world.
By faith in Christ we have been brought to life and given
the ability to enjoy life with God. Therefore, if you are alive in the Spirit
by faith in Jesus, enjoy this life in the Spirit. Explore your desires with the
Lord and ask Him for new refined desires. Bring the desires of your heart to the
Lord and surrender them to Him. Ask Him to take control of your desires and let
the Spirit show you how to pursue fulfillment in and with Him. To “walk in the
Spirit” means to let Him lead you in the “way everlasting” (Psalm 139), into a
life of fulfillment and contentment in and with God.
Here are some practical steps and questions to ask when examining your heart before the Lord:
Define the core of your desires. What is at the heart of my desire or frustration? What is at the heart of this desire that I am ashamed of? What is the God-given desire that my flesh has twisted into this? When you recognize what that God-given desire is, surrender it to the Lord and begin to seek fulfillment with Him. If you just ask God to remove that desire that you are ashamed of, you will not be dealing with the heart of the problem. God does not want to remove the problem, but He wants to deal with the heart of the problem. He wants to take what is twisted and broken and make it good and holy again.
Examine your motivations. How am I pursuing fulfillment of this desire? Am I seeking fulfillment with or apart from God?
“bring every
thought (desire, longing, frustration, fear…) into captivity to the obedience
of Christ”
(2 Corinthians
10:5).
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