An Invitation To Desire

Traditional Christianity and for that matter charismatic Christianity has labeled 'Desire' as a bad attribute. Oh if you have desire you need to purge it as fast as you can, I contest this stubbornly...'Desire' is a God given gift and attribute but when misused can turn into lust and all the other manifestations we commonly know as greed, anger, scheming selfish behavior etc. How are we to control 'Desire' then? In fact the Christian life is an invitation to 'Desire' because God desired us and romanced us into the the Sacred Romance. 

This may come as a surprise to you: Christianity is not an invitation to become a moral person. It is not a program for getting us in line or for reforming society. It has a powerful effect upon our lives, but when transformation comes, it is always the aftereffect of something else, something at the level of our hearts. And so at its core, Christianity begins with an invitation to desire. 

In my post few days back I talked about the Samaritan woman (adding few more vignettes to it) we see the woman comes to the well at mid-day to avoid other women because of her lifestyle but in turn she runs into God instead. We clearly see Is God interested in talking to her about her immorality? No but he addresses her about her thirst. He does not give her a sermon on purity, He does not even mention it, except to say that He knows what and how her life is and address's the problem of "you have searched everywhere now let us talk about your heart's real thirst, your heart's real desire , the water I give will spring forth, gushing as fountains of eternal life' (Paraphrase mine). 


The Christian Life is an Invitation To Desire. As you walk with Him you come to know His Desire and He satisfies like no other. 


Blessings and Shalom,


Sam Kurien