If you ask a room full of people what your heart’s desire is, you will get a multitude of different answers. Some would be for physical healing for themselves or a loved one. Another may answer with a desire to be financially secure. Parents may desire that their children get a certain job, do well in school, or find that perfect mate. All of these desires are good, but all of these are temporal desires; none of them will make any difference in eternity. While these may impact your spiritual life, they do not gain Heaven for you. In Romans 10:1, Paul teaches us what our heart’s desire should be when he says, “My heart’s desire” is for all of Israel to be saved.
Romans 10:1 “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.”
Paul was a Jew and a leader of his faith. He was well-known and was zealous in his Jewish faith. He was at the stoning of Stephen which we have recorded in Act 7:58, “And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.” This was Paul, Saul was his Hebrew name. Afterward, He was on his way to Damascus to persecute others of the Christian faith that posed a threat to the Jewish faith. On this journey, everything changed for Paul. He had a grand encounter with Jesus and received Christ as his Savior. You can read a full account of his conversion in Acts chapter 9.
After his conversion, Paul’s desire was to see those he loved and had worshiped with, come to know Jesus. In Romans 9:1-3 Paul is in great sorrow over his fellow Jews who did not believe in Jesus. He knew they were in darkness and doomed for Hell. He tells them in verse 3 that if it would bring salvation to them, he would give up his own salvation and suffer Hell for them. While this is not possible, it shows us his heart’s desire to see them reconciled with God.
Romans 9:1-3 “I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:”
The heart of God desires for you to love Him, serve Him, obey Him, and spend eternity with Him. He proved that to us in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Jesus’ desire is for you to accept Him as your Savior and Lord. That was His heart’s desire when He laid down His life for you. It wasn’t the soldiers that took Jesus life, He gave it.
John 10:18 “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.”
What are the earnest, sincere desires of your heart? If it is to see others saved, you will be witnessing. You will find creative ways to talk to others that you do not know. Are you willing to get out of your comfort zone to see someone enter the kingdom? We know that God’s and Jesus’ heart’s desire is to seek and save the lost. Luke 19:10 “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
We who have given our lives to Jesus must show our allegiance in our actions. If we love Him, we will love the things He loves, and we will obey. Jesus said in John 14:15 “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” So, proof of our love can be measured by our love for the lost. Not just our prayers for them, but our quest to tell them. We may say we love them, but our actions will either verify our claims to love, or they will nullify them. We need to be honest with ourselves and God about our claim to love Him more than anything. He proved His love for us by the death of His Son. We prove our love for Him by our obedience to Him in all His commands but especially in loving others and seeking to tell them about Him.
