Hankering

I don’t know if it is a hill I’ll die on, but I have never Door Dashed anything, and I don’t intend to start. I mean no disrespect or judgment to anyone who would click a few buttons and have a box of Crumbl mini cookies dropped off on your doorstep. Maybe this is my transition into being old-fashioned, but I couldn't care less. I kind of like it. You see, back in my day, if you got a hankering (to have a strong or persistent desire) for some “fast food,” you had to put on shoes, dig through the sofa cushions for change, find your keys, steal some gas from the mower, and race across town before the establishment closed. I have logged miles on foot and on a BMX bike for something as trivial as a piece of bubble gum and a Coke because it was what I wanted. It melts my mind like a cracked nuclear reactor that the experience of pursuing a hankering has been reduced to clicking some buttons on an app while sitting in a recliner and binge-watching a new show. Not only does it take all the fun out of it, but this newfangled technology is killing one of the greatest aspects of desire. You see, desire of the heart is one of the greatest motivators in life and, at its core, drives everything. Some of the modern conveniences have not removed desire; it has just misplaced it.

Psalm 63:1

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

My concern is that we may have been influenced a little more by culture than we realize. Unfortunately, much of the Christian practice today has resulted in the idea that we can DoorDash a little Jesus whenever we want. The church has been compelled to make it convenient and comfortable so that we can quickly move on to another stronger hankering. This should send up bright, glowing emergency signal flares in our minds. The life of a disciple is far from convenient, and the pursuit of God vigorous. Our craving for The Way should be so strong that we are compelled to approach him with the vigor of shaking every gas can in the garage, emptying the meager contents into a pan and then funneling the contents into the tank, driving with no air conditioning to conserve gas, rolling through stop signs, and taking the most direct route to get to the destination. All because you absolutely must fill your greatest and burning desire.

Matthew 5:6

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

May  our greatest hankering be for the Lord. Let us seek him with all of our heart (Jeremiah 29:13).

Eyes up,

Ryan