I Want

(source)

Seniors, you've seen it. Juniors, you've seen it. Heck, probably the majority of high schoolers and possibly a handful of middle schoolers have seen it too. You're driving by some community college in town or it's around that time when colleges you've never even heard of start sending obnoxious letters to your house, begging you to consider and apply to their exceptional school. Almost all of them contain some cheesy tag line that reads, "Your future starts here." I'd laugh if it wasn't for the fact that dropout rates aren't meant to be funny. The other day, I happened to pass by a large tacky poster plastered on some brick wall on a college building that read those same words. If 90% of those wide-eyed freshmen had a clue what they were in for as they entered college, then maybe they'd have a chance to map out their future. I'd like to take a moment to say that this is not a post about how or why college is not for everyone. It is not even about why America's school/education system is not cut out for every graduating high school student. Nope. When I read that poster and countless other college pamphlets about "starting a future", I secretly wished that they had put an asterisk next to "future" and small, fine print beneath: "*Success depends on the individual and how much he/she decides to apply himself/herself."

If you want to do something with your life, you have to want it like nothing else. Scrolling down my Facebook feed the other day, some random post caught my attention: "Weight loss is 100% mental. You have to want it more than anything else." I laughed when I read it, because doesn't that ring true for just about everything else in life? You want to lose weight? Then do it. You want better grades? Then apply yourself. You want better relationships? Then work on it. Invest your time in it. Make it worthwhile. This is your life, Jon Foreman crooned, are you who you wanna be? 

Remember my post last month about wanting to have a dream, but not knowing what it was? In retrospect, I don't think I wanted a dream. I just wanted to want something. I wanted to live my life pursuing something like I never had before. The catch about wanting something, though, is being sure of investing your time in the right pursuit. Yes, you can desire to do such and such, but make sure it's worth it. When I ask myself what it is I truly want for the rest of my life, I can honestly say it is a real relationship with my Lover. Like a deep-gut want. Like Blake's man pining for the moon, "I want, I want!" want. When you ache for something like that, nothing is too much work, you know? You will do things that make you feel uncomfortable and awkward and way out of your comfort bubble, but you could care less because it is the end result you pine for. And in the case of having a relationship with Christ, the reward is sweet. 

I find it fascinating how Christ never threatened or forced people to follow Him. He challenged people to believe. Believe, He told Peter who teetered above crashing waves. Believe, He beckoned Thomas with nail-pierced hands. Believe, He said to the blind and the mute (Matt. 9:28). Believe, He said to the father of the demon-possessed son. And the father's response is beautiful: "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24). 

Come, Christ says, follow me. Do you believe? Do you want it? A radical love, a radical life, awaits.