Rev. Claudia & Dr. Timothy Emerick
Missionaries of the Cross
I Corinthians 1:18
Heavenly Desires!
Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.1 Peter 5:6-7.
Lord, I am convinced that you want me as your disciple to be carefree as possible. The life of discipleship is a life of gradual disencumberment, whereas the life of the worldly minded is one of gradual encumbering. A true disciple because what Paul’s captain did, unload the cargo. But the earthly minded man keeps adding cargo as long as he lives.
The self-centered life naturally multiplies its cares because it multiplies its desires. One pleasure must give way to two and one piece of worldly goods must eventually produce many. The result of all self-gratification is not Peace of Mind but increased anxiety. Jesus called that anxiety the tears of this world (Matthew 13:22). Tears are produced by self-centered desires, and desires are born naturally selfish in the heart of man.
As a disciple of Jesus Christ, I must strike at the heart of worldliness. It does not lie in things, but in the desire for things. I must not crucify my desires; I must direct them. Only desires that are manifestly displeasing must be crucified, and all other desires must be purified by the washing of the process of prayer and the Word. (Mark 11:24).
Desires that have been purified lead to a holy carefreeness. When God answers my desires, He does so without adding sorrow (Proverbs10:22); But when I seek my own self-gratification, I sow seeds of bitterness. The world is full of boredom because those are the fruits of self-centered existence. When I find my gratification in self-denial for Christ’s sake, I find myself marvelously stimulated with the excitement of an eternal adventure. Self-desire is practical immortality to be realized now and to be enjoyed forever! If I seek the kingdom of God in all its right ways, all things will be mine. (Matthew 6:33).