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 | | From: | JPF | | Subject: | A Greater Desire | | Date: | Thu, 13 Jan 2005 01:01:07 GMT |
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 | A Greater Desire
There once was an eager student who wanted to gain wisdom and insight. He
went to the wisest of the town, Socrates, to seek his counsel. Socrates
was an old soul and had great knowledge of many things. The boy asked the
town sage how he too could acquire such mastery. Being a man of few words,
Socrates chose not to speak, but to illustrate.
He took the child to the beach and, with all of his clothes still on,
walked straight out into the water. He loved to do curious things like
that, especially when he was trying to prove a point. The pupil gingerly
followed his instruction and walked into the sea, joining Socrates where
the water was just below their chins. Without saying a word, Socrates
reached out and put his hands on the boy's shoulders. Looking deep into
his student's eyes, Socrates pushed the student's head under the water
with all his might.
A struggle ensued, and just before a life was taken away, Socrates
released his captive. The boy raced to the surface and, gasping for air
and choking from the salt water, looked around for Socrates in order to
seek his retaliation on the sage. To the student's bewilderment, the old
man was already patiently waiting on the beach. When the student arrived
on the sand, he angrily shouted, "Why did you try to kill me?" The wise
man calmly retorted with a question of his own: "Boy, when you were
underneath the water, not sure if you would live to see another day, what
did you want more than anything in the world?"
The student took a few moments to reflect, then went with his intuition.
Softly he said, "I wanted to breathe." Socrates, now illuminated by his
own huge smile, looked at the boy comfortingly and said, "Ah! When you
want wisdom and insight as badly as you wanted to breathe, it is then that
you shall have it."
There is much of a spiritual nature that we do not receive because we
don't want it enough. But, when we desire a knowledge of God's word, when
we desire a close relationship with God, when we desire wisdom (the
ability to make good decisions) to such extent that those things take
first priority, when we truly want them more than anything else in the
world, then they lie within our grasp.
Our problem often is that we desire them, but we also desire many other
things. That's why Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell everything and
follow him (Mark 10:21). He wanted to see how strong the young man's
desire was.
"Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, let
him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes
to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake
shall find it.' " (Matt. 16:24-25, NASV)
"Father, I confess that often in my life desire for other things has
distracted me from my desire to have a close relationship with you. Please
strengthen me that I may reach the point that being close to you means
more than life itself. In Jesus' name, Amen."
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