MEN: YOU’VE GOT TO HAVE THE WANT-TO

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me.'”  (Matthew 16:24 NIV)

Most members of my generation are familiar with the classic Rolling Stones song “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” The lyrics may indeed speak truth in the world of human relationships and romantic love. We can’t always get what we want, but we might manage to get what we need if only we try hard enough. Tenacity pays off. Fair enough.

In the arena of spiritual growth, however, wanting turns out to be a fundamental prerequisite for making any progress at all. When our wanting lines up with God’s intention, that combination adds up to one powerful recipe. When the heartfelt longing of Christian men is the desire to walk in God’s way, look out, world! In that case, what we want is most certainly and powerfully what we are going to get.

For Christian men, wanting is absolutely the most critical variable in the equation. God will never force His hand if we fail to own the desire. Coercion is not in God’s nature, and bullying is not in His game plan. The Lord of the universe has always been gracious to respect the choices we make.

The ball is in our court. “You’ve got to have the want-to” may be a worn cliché in religious vernacular, but it turns out to be a powerful truth. In practice a large enough dose of want-to adds up to an enormously effective tool on the infrequently traveled road of ongoing spiritual formation. 

-- Derek Maul in “Get Real: A Spiritual Journey for Men” 

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