Guiding Principle: “Desires: Your personal rule of life is discerned and framed through the longings, yearnings and goals God has placed on your heart and mind that propel you forward with joy.
In our last class together we spent a lot of time together discussing our desires and passions and how they can help us discover God’s calling on our life. We also discussed how the terms “desires” and “passions” are not historically good words in Christianity because the Epistles and Catechisms are typically talking about resisting desires and passions. For example, consider:
Romans 13:14 “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”
or
I Corinthians 7:37: “But whoever is firmly established in his heart, being under no necessity but having his desire under control, and has determined this in his heart, to keep her as his betrothed, he will do well.”
or
Galatians 5:24: “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
However, God gives us desires as human beings and as individuals not just to be resisted but to be put into the service of the Lord. How else do we make sense of the following Scriptures:
Ecclesiastes 3:11: “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”
or
I Corinthians 12:31: “But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.”
or
Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he shall give you your heart’s desires.”
Anglican Theologian Richard Hooker writes that our desires are in need of re-emphasis and reworking in the Kingdom of God. In his Ecclesiastical Laws of Polity Hooker writes of a “Triple Perfection” which man desires:
The Sensual: things “which life itself requires or as beauties or ornaments of life”
The Intellectual: “things which none underneath man is capable of”
The Spiritual and Divine: “things we tend by supernatural means” here but cannot attain
Each of these needs to be re-ordered. They are connected originally to a sinful nature but were not created for that sinful nature. Some need to be re-ordered. Others need to be suppressed or bolstered. Desires cannot be trusted on their own, but they can point to a calling God has on your life.
Reflection & Spiritual Community Questions
As I looked through the questions in the latter half of the chapter I found that I have been aligning my life with my desires pretty well. I really value family and the church as a family and my life is built around both. This past week I have been ill which has caused me to slow down and spend more time with my family out of necessity. I have also been reflecting on how I can further shape St. Anselm to order and strengthen our families on Sunday morning and throughout the week.
I have a passion to reclaim the mind for Christ, but also to help others reclaim their families for Christ. Teaching is one of my gifts and roles as a priest. My passion to have a healthy parish is a chief part of my deepest passions. Relationships between Christians and a family dynamic in the Church is really important to me.
There are times when I have to balance out my desires with God’s commands. For example, I am not much of an evangelist when it comes thinking about reaching outside my community. On the other hand, I rejoice when new people come into the community. I need to reflect more on this and how God would have me use my desires for His purposes.