According to theologian A. W. Tozer, the single most important characteristic of every human being is what comes into our mind when we think about God. What we think about our own identity, our self-value, our ethics, and even our purpose depend entirely on our concept of God and what exactly he has to do with us. We all know he has something to do with us; we all find ourselves wanting and expecting something from his Son whom he sent to us. So we can understand just about anything about someone’s soul simply by asking them this particular question: what do you want and expect from Jesus?
This was the question Jesus himself asked of his first disciples—or more literally, he simply asked, “What do you seek?” Even this early on, Jesus was a hot topic; people were throwing around phrases like “Messiah” and “Lamb of God,” but no one really knew what he was about yet. People probably wanted a triumphant warrior against their oppressors, or a kind healer and friend. Maybe some just wanted to be left alone and not shamed. But not these two disciples. They brought no personal agenda that they wanted to fit Jesus into. They simply wanted to stay where Jesus stayed, and follow where Jesus led.
This is what makes a person a disciple of God! What do you want and expect from Jesus? Just to stay wherever he is and follow him. Candidly, our world today is just as confused as it was back then; most people don’t really know quite what to make of this Jesus guy. But oftentimes people find themselves expecting Jesus, if he’s really there, to bow to them in some way. We want a Jesus we can make in our own image; we want a Jesus who agrees with all our own desires. And yes, even we Christians tend to default to that kind of thinking! But if we are to be disciples, what we want with Jesus should match what the first disciples wanted. Our agenda should give way to God’s plan, and we should want to stay with and follow Jesus wherever he goes!
Can we honestly say this is our foremost desire? What we think about God, and what we want from Jesus, is the most important thing about us. So it’s worth asking what personal desires and expectations are getting in the way. It’s worth surrendering all of them to Christ and following him. God is on the move; commit to go wherever he goes!
