Wanting more than what God wants you to have …

Have you ever considered it is possible to have more than what God wants you to have?

There’s a broad passing about of a platitude stating that you’ll never have more than God wants you to have, but that’s simply not true. The story of human history is resplendent of humanity pursuing more than what God wanted them to have.

The first man and woman had one fruit too many.

Consider the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-24). The father had provided a nice life for his son, but his son wanted more. He desired more than what the father provided. He wanted to indulge in other things his father wasn’t willing to provide.

Consider the story of the rich young man (Luke 18:18-23). His problem was that he had a lot of stuff he didn’t need. Stuff that got in the way of his following Jesus. He had too much because he wasn’t willing to part with what he had to have so much more in Christ.

And how do people behave when we actually use what we have for Christ? Consider the story of the woman anointing the feet of Jesus with expensive perfume (Matthew 26:6-13). The disciples had a near apoplectic fit that something so costly was used in such a manner!

But Jesus didn’t consider the action of the woman to be a waste.

Most of us live a life of desire. We want. At least a little more than what we have now. But you cannot follow Jesus with that attitude.

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?'” Matthew 16:24-26.

If you have more than the most basic of needs, you have excess. Satisfied? Or is there something more you know you want?

Could it be you have too much? That you’re holding on to things, desires, or wants that might be getting in the way of your followership of Jesus?

Can you join the Apostle Paul in saying …

“I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!” Philippians 3:7-11.

Scotty