Wanting More

Did you ever finish an ice cream cone, and find yourself wanting more? Or maybe a good
steak or that special dessert? As Christians mature, we find ourselves wanting more of certain,
special “things which accompany salvation.” We have tasted the heavenly gift (Hebrews 6:4), and
it is sweet. It thrills our senses, stirs our imagination. We find ourselves wanting to “grow in the
grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ,” (2 Peter 3:18). There are several specific areas where this
desire is particularly apparent:
We want more righteousness. “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness:
for they shall be filled,” (Matthew 5:6). Righteousness is doing what is right. It includes right
thinking, right decision making, right speaking, right living. All of us – even Christians – make
mistakes, but as we grow up in Christ, we find ourselves trying harder to overcome these. We try
not to keep making the same mistakes over and over again. We try to be righteous.
Increasing our level of righteousness requires a more sober approach to life. We recognize
that we are not going to live forever, that life is short, and that we need to make the best choices
we can in the days remaining. I do not believe most Christians want to live forever on this earth.
Many of them are ready to move on anytime now. But they do want to make the most of the time
allotted to them. They want to be “redeeming the time, because the days are evil,” (Colossians,
4:5). They want to say, and do the right thing in every circumstance. They want fewer regrets. In
short, they want more righteousness.
We want more fellowship. “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship
one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin,” (1 John 1:7). The rich
and meaningful fellowship with God’s people is one of the greatest blessings of being a Christian.
The longer we faithfully live in the body of Christ, the more we appreciate one another and the
precious interaction we enjoy.
Christians relish their time in the assemblies, as well as in social gatherings and special
opportunities together. They enjoy considering one another, and provoking unto love and good
works, (Hebrews 10:24). They may not rush out the door as soon as worship concludes, and they
may arrive a little early in order to partake of some extra fellowship.
We want more scriptural preaching. Good Bible preaching is a rarity many places these
days, and faithful Christians appreciate it greatly. Christians can appreciate a good joke or two in
a sermon, but they typically do not come in order to be entertained. They “as newborn babes, long
for the spiritual milk which is without guile, that [they] may grow thereby unto salvation,” (1 Peter
2:2).
When gospel preachers get away from preaching the Bible, they find themselves competing
against entertainers, comedians and after dinner speakers. But there is a great abundance of them,
and so it’s hard to hold an audience long-term. Most people will eventually leave and go where
they think the entertainment is better. But God demands doctrinal, biblical preaching. And God’s
people want more of it. We all know that the truth can suffer in the wrong hands. But although the
preacher’s talents are important, we need to remember that the saving power is in the Word, not in
the preacher. Christians long for and support sound, Bible preaching.
We want more time with the Master. As Fanny J. Crosby so beautifully expressed it, “One
blessed hour with Jesus our Lord, One blessed hour to feast on His Word; One blessed hour with
Jesus apart, One blessed hour to calm the troubled heart. One sweet hour of holy, calm delight,
One sweet hour of tender, melting love; One sweet hour, O precious Saviour, One sweet hour with
thee.”
How are you doing in your devotional time with the Lord? Are you taking time to be
meditating on His word? Do you find yourself longing to spend more time with the Master? As
we grow in our faith, we find ourselves wanting more of these things. More righteousness, more
fellowship, more preaching of his word, and more precious time with the Master!