Home

Desires Down Deep

Share

29 January 2010 - 5:10pm — joyce
-by Jeremy J. Priest
 
So many times we keep the deepest desires and needs of our hearts to ourselves. We dont tell Jesus about them. Why?
Jesus first words in Johns Gospel are a question, What do you seek? The disciples tell Him their deep desire: they want to see where hes staying. Jesus responds to their deep desire and says, Come and see.
Jesus wants to know our hearts desires. He sometimes finds that spot in our hearts that needs to be touched, to be poked, and He touches it (or allows it to be touched). He does this in order to draw us out. Frequently he pokes where we need to be healed so that well come to Him with our needs.
God is allowing Jeremiah to be poked in the first reading. Actually, I think God is using Jeremiah to do a little poking for Him. God asks Jeremiah to speak words of love to His people by telling them the truth: stand up and tell them all that I command you. Jeremiah isnt so excited because he knows this task is going to hurt. As it turns out, God is going to poke the people to such an extent through Jeremiahs words that they want him dead.
In todays Gospel, Jesus pokes his childhood friends with the words: there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah[but] It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian (Luke 4:25, 26-7). And like Jeremiah before him, they try to kill Jesus too.
We might say, Ouch! Dont poke so deep. In this passage I think Jesus is poking at those who seek love and union with God by identifying themselves with their ancestors. Jesus uses these examples to show that God gives that love freely to all who seek Him in faith. So, seek after God in faith and youll find the deep desire for love and union that youre looking for. Jesus is poking here so as to awaken that desire.
Ill give you a small and humbling example of the Lords poking from my own life. Recently I got upset when someone took my seat. Its a childish thing and Im sure Ill get over it soon. I felt so ridiculous about it becausewellwhy was I so upset? Its just a chair. It wasnt until I sat down and brought my upset feelings to the Lord in prayer that I realized where He was poking: Its my deep desire to feel like Im family in the Lords house and my family frequently had places at the dinner table. When I finally arrived at that deep desire underneath my upset exterior, I felt the Lord inviting me to Come and see, as well.
Sometimes the pokes we endure are small and sometimes theyre big and in more sensitive places. Whether big or small, I think God calls us out and draws us deeper into relationship with Him through them. Where is the Lord poking you these days?
 
-Jeremy J. Priest