And not to be configured to this eon, but to be transformed by the renewing of your mind, for you to be testing what is the will of God, good and well pleasing and perfect.
Romans 12: 2, Concordant New Testament
One of the most popular lines of Christian speak these days is what is, or what will be, the will of God. What is it that God desires? For once we are in tune with the desires of the Lord, we will be in a much better position. At least that's what most pastors will tell us. So what is the desire of the Lord? Does anyone really know? We know from scripture that Jesus knew the desires of the Father, because He acted upon them {John 4:34}. In fact, Jesus claimed that He only did what He perceived His father doing {John 5:19}. It is only natural that He would learn from watching the Father, for that is what we do as well. We can picture a young Jesus in the shop of His father Joseph learning from him. This is also true with His Father in the heavens as well. Jesus has been described as a man of mercy, patience and kindness. Where do you think He learned these traits? It is not too far of a stretch that He has been learning from the Father from the beginning {John 1:1-5}. How many of us have learned at the feet of our parents? It's easy to understand that genetics account for much of our own behaviors, but we also learn from what we experience. So, what are the genetics of Jesus? What is His DNA? Scripture tells us that Jesus Himself proclaimed that when we see Him we see the Father as well {John 14:7}. So, it is easy to say that the direct DNA of Jesus traces to our heavenly Father as well. Interestingly enough, our own DNA will trace to the Father as well {Genesis 2:7}. So, it is not too far beyond imagination that we should desire what our Father desires as well. I have heard many a Christian express a deep desire to "know the Lord." Is this just a coincidence? What inspires one to desire to know the Lord? Well, when we understand who we really are, we will see that we're not too far from the Lord. The apostle Paul speaks to the reality of the indwelling Christ {Galatians 2:20}. That is, it is Christ Jesus who lives in us. He and the Father are one, as we are one with He and the Father. This was indeed one of the desires of the Lord {John 17:21}. It's not to difficult to see that more than a few things we desire are also what God wants.
In everything be giving thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5: 18, Concordant New Testament
Would it not be fitting to know and do what God desires? After all, He has created us in His own image {Genesis 1:27}. Why wouldn't we desire to know more about Him? To do as what it is He desires. It's who we are. Make no mistake, when you look in that mirror each day, you see the Father. The Father who created you in His image as well as The Father manifested through Christ in you. It's only natural that we should desire to know Him. Of course, one of the desires of the Father is that we would come to know Him. Many a Christian has expressed this very desire. To know the Father. They are, in fact, doing the will of the Father. They are realizing, perhaps without knowing, what God wants. I have no doubt that when our own desire to know the Father is revealed in us, that it is the Father Himself who speaks to us what He desires. I myself have experienced this revelation. I realized my own desire to know the Father. Now, if I were to say to some pastor that I was therefore doing the will of God I might not get a positive response. For a good part of our history, doing the will of the Lord has been seen as a lofty goal and not something we could or would achieve. Gods will has been seen as something we must aspire to in order to be good upstanding Christians. I suggest that the will of the Lord is a part of who we are. For if He remains in us, as Paul correctly recognized, then His desires remain a part of us as well. His desires are our own.
That they may all be one, according as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us, that the world shall be believing that Thou dost commission Me.
John 17: 21, Concordant New Testament
~Scott~
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