Jesus’ Desire for You

John 17:24, “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, may be with Me where I am, to see My glory that You have given Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”

It is a wonderful feeling to be desired. Synonymous to being desired is to be loved, wanted, and cared for. We desire many things: the latest gaming console, the latest iPhone, the latest clothing trend, and so on. Yet it is entirely another thing to be desired. Being desired gives you meaning. Thus, without it, we think we are meaningless. If we’re not desired—if nobody wants us—life is meaningless; we have no reason to live.

I used to think this way once upon a time. I am comfortably open with talking about my depression. I battle with it every day. For the longest time, I sought meaning in being desired by a woman. I thought that to have meaning was to be loved by a significant other. It certainly provides meaning, but that is not where meaning comes from in its totality. It wasn’t until a while after I realised where true meaning comes from that I finally received a beautiful woman of God who deeply desires me, whose beauty is beyond anything I ever imagined.

Jesus desires you. He says so in this prayer. Jesus’ desire is where true meaning comes from. Jesus only prayed for Himself a little bit; the rest of His prayer was for you. Before He was about to be betrayed, tortured, and crucified, Jesus was thinking about you; and He was thinking about His greatest desire: that you would be with Him in His glory.

If you are searching for a meaning to live, here is your meaning: Jesus desires to know you and be with you for all eternity, and He desires to know you intimately. He desires you, which means He desires to know all about your problems, your anxieties, your fears, your failures, your darkness, your brokenness, your joys, your passions—everything! Sure, He already knows about them, but He wants to hear them from you. He already knows everything about you, so it is incredibly powerful that He desires to develop a relationship with you for all eternity.

Most of all, He desires that you see His glory when He returns. That is why He died for you. There is nothing too big, dark, or heavy for Jesus to deal with. You never have to worry about being good enough for Jesus because He has desired you since before the foundation of the world. If Jesus desired a perfect people, He would not have died for sinners. Jesus died for an imperfect, broken people, which means He died for you—which means He desires you no matter how broken you are because Jesus became totally broken on the cross to redeem you and be with you.