Your "Want To"

(by Paul Chappell)

"And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head."

Luke 9:57–58

I remember talking to a man who didn’t like what we were doing at Lancaster Baptist Church. "You just do everything the Bible says to do," he accused. I told him, "I love the Author of the Book, and I want to do what He says." Although I don’t always succeed at that effort, it is my goal to do what God wants me to do.

The reason for that "want to" is that I love Christ and desire to follow Him. It is not that the Bible is a list of rules for me to keep. There are commands of God which carry blessings for obedience and punishments for disobedience; but the Christian life is far more than just that. Walking with God in a close personal relationship through prayer and spending time in His Word creates a desire in our hearts to follow what He has said to do.

Someone once said, "Rules without relationships bring rebellion; rules with relationships bring response." The closer I am to Jesus, the more likely I am to want to do what He wants me to do. Remember before Peter three times denied the Lord, he was first following Him "afar off" (Matthew 26:58).

The more time we spend with Jesus, the more like Him we become. Acts 4:13 says, "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus." The more like Jesus we become, the stronger our desire to please the Father becomes, and the more we desire do right.

Rooted Principle: 
If your "want to" concerning following Christ’s commands is weak, check the strength of your walk with Jesus Christ.