Jesus said it so simply and penetratingly: "If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching…" (Jn. 7:17). Stated positively, if anyone wants to want to obey Christ, he will have Christ. Stated negatively, if anyone has no desire to do God's desires, he will not have Christ. The reason people have a dynamic walk with Christ is that they have a desire for Him. And the reason that others have no genuine life with Christ is that they don't want Him.
There are numerous examples of this in the life and ministry of Christ. Consider the parable of Jesus in Mt. 22:1ff, and Jesus' lament over Jerusalem (Mt. 23:37). And the crowd in Jn. 6:66 which has no desire to heed Christ's words about belief, so it leaves (in contrast with the disciples, who want Christ, so they stay; Jn. 6:67). And the church of Thyatira also repudiated the word of Christ because it had no desire to repent of immorality (Rev. 2:21).
The "poster child" of those who do not want to want God's will is the "faithful" son of the waiting Father in Christ's parable in Luke 15. He didn't get what he wanted from his Father, so he was unwilling to go into the party celebrating the return of his repentant prodigal brother.
These examples are related to God's repeated refrain in the Old Testament, "For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings" (Hos. 6:6). God wants more than just outward conformity to His ordinances; He longs for people that follow Him joyfully — out of a desire for His fellowship (see also Acts 7:39 for another of many OT examples).
By contrast is the plea of the praying tax collector, who demonstrated his desire to know God and follow God by petitioning God with the simple prayer, "God, be merciful to me, the sinner!" This is the prayer of the one who wants to want to do the will of God — he prays for God's mercy and grace to provide it for him (cf. also Rom. 7:24-25; 9:16).
John Piper said it well in a sermon four years ago:
…to you who say, you have never tasted the glory of God, I say, you have tasted many of its appetizers. Have you ever looked up? Have you ever been hugged? Have you ever admired anything? Have you ever sat in front of a warm fire? Have you ever tasted sexual desire? Have you ever walked in the woods, sat by a lake, lain in a summer hammock? Have you ever drunk your favorite drink on a hot day or eaten anything good? Every desire is either a devout or a distorted enticement to the glory of heaven.You say you haven’t tasted God’s glory. I say. You have tasted the appetizers. Go on to the meal. You have seen the shadows; look at the substance. You have walked in the warm rays of the day; turn and look at the sun itself. You have heard echoes of God’s glory everywhere; tune your heart to the original music.
And the best place to get your heart tuned is at the cross of Jesus Christ. "We have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). If you want the most concentrated display of the glory of God, look at Jesus in the Gospels, and look especially at the cross. This will focus your eyes and tune your heart and waken your taste buds so that you will see and hear and taste the glory of the true God everywhere.
That is what you were made for. I plead with you: don’t throw your life away. God made you to know his glory. Pursue that with all your heart and above all else.
So this is a worthy prayer for us today: "Lord, kindle afresh our hearts not only to be obedient to you, but to take delight in obeying you. Give us a passion to want you and to want to do Your will. Intrude into our lives to change our passions into godly desires — so Christ might be glorified (revealed) in us."
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