What would you say are the five deepest longings of the human heart and how do we fulfill these longings?

Daniel Strange in his book, “Making Faith Magnetic: Five Hidden Themes Our Culture Can’t Stop Talking About and How to Connect Them to Christ” borrows from the work of J.H. Bavinck (his uncle was Herman Bavinck) and describes the five things we as humans crave the most.

Totality: A Way To Connect

Humans are always looking to connect with others. Or if not connected with others, we want to feel connected with something bigger than us. A purpose. This very well may be why social media is such a powerful drug these days. It makes the promise of connection with others but fails to deliver. We search endlessly but the desire to be connected is never quite satisfied.

The answer to our longing to be connected is in fact a person and his name is Jesus. Jesus is the friend who loved us so much that he died for us. Our deepest connection in life is found in Jesus and no one else.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me (connection) and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” -John 15:5

Our new life begins and we flourish only when we are connected to Jesus.

Norm: A Way To Live

Is there a way to live? If there is a particular way to live, which path do we take? Who makes the rules? Would we be better off without rules? No doubt we all have a deep longing to know how we should live.

Here is the honest truth, take a path that leads away from Jesus at your own peril. The path that I took away from Christ almost ended my life. You can read more about my story HERE.

The wonderful thing is that this is not all about following the rules. It is following the One who knows all about you and deeply loves you.

Jesus loves us and that is why he tells us the best way to live, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” -John 14:6

Deliverance: A Way Out

How do we get out of the mess we are in? Where is the hero of the story? At times the darkness seems to be overpowering the darkness. Where do we go when all else fails us?

It’s not PC to say it, but our greatest problem is our sinful heart. Our sin and separation from God is what we need to be delivered from. It is the problem behind all the other problems.

Jesus said in John 11:25, “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live…” Jesus died in our place and he is he only place to turn for our rescue.

Destiny: A Way To Control

Who is in control? You and me? Are we merely pawns on the stage of world history? We want to be in control but life at a young age makes us painfully aware that there are forces beyond far beyond our power of influence.

So anxiety, worry, depression, despair begin to nag us.

Or maybe (instead merely giving into anxiety) we try to overcompensate and control everything. Our kids, our spouse, our career, our health.

But we all know where this all leads. A crash. We simply can not control our lives. Is there a better way?

Jesus is in control. Not only is he in control as eternal God but he is a good and loving God! “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” -John 10:11

We can trust Jesus as the Great Shepherd of our soul.

Higher Power: A Way Beyond

Is there something or someone greater than us that is “out there?” Is there a higher power? You might say that you (and others you know) don’t care about this and you are not really searching for “God.” Romans 1 is key and it tells us that there are signs that God is real all around us but we are actively suppressing the truth. Somewhere inside of us we are uncomfortable with a God who is over us and over all.

“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” -John 8:12

The light of the world came to show us that he is the higher power we desperately need. Take time to stare at the light of Jesus in the gospels and you will begin to see that there is no one in human history like him.

One Small Critique

I might want to change the number of cravings of the human heart from five to six. I believe one of the greatest desires of the human heart is happiness or pleasure. I have often referred to humans as pleasure seeking missiles constantly in pursuit of the next high or buzz. If you think my critique is short-sighted or is missing something that Daniel Strange is seeking to communicate please let me know!

What In The World Do We Do With This?

Perhaps our starting point is to simply ask some important questions…

Are we being sensitive to the longings that people have when we talk to them? Are we aware of what is going on in their heart and how the gospel is the solution to their greatest needs?

How do these five longings impact the way that we preach the Word of God? Are we talking at people or are we speaking to their heart?

Related to preaching I found this quote helpful, “For those of us given the responsibility to teach and preach God’s Word, our goal, in the power of the Holy Spirit, is to offer Christ to people, both Christians and non-Christians. We want to preach Christ crucified in a way which engages all the faculties: intellect, emotion, will, imagination and so on. We want our preaching to change people’s hearts, touching their ultimate hopes, fears, and commitments. We strive to make our application connect with the normal everyday lives of people in all their work, rest, and play. We seek to feed people, so that on full stomachs they can be sent out week by week into their God-given callings and be strengthened and sustained in their witness. Using the magnetic points (five longings all humans have) can help us to prepare those kinds of sermons. They can act as a bridge to connect our preaching to the lives of our listeners. Or to put it another way, the magnetic points can be an aide in what John Stott famously called “double listening” of having the Bible in one hand and the newspaper (or news feed, blog or podcast) in the other.” -Making Faith Strange (pages 165-166)

Are we focused like a laser on the person of Jesus Christ in all that we do in the life of the church? Are we continually calling the believer and the unbeliever back to the good news of Jesus?

I Would Love To Tell You More About Jesus

I would love the opportunity to tell you more about how Jesus is the One who fulfills the deepest longings that we all share in common. Feel free to leave a comment or ask a question!