What exactly do you expect of 20 year olds? It seems that our expectations of young people is that they are going to be a little (or a lot) distracted and self-absorbed. Many think they will live it up while they are in college on their parents money and then get serious, magically, when they get a real job. What a sad indication of our worldview!

I have been savoring a journal of a young man you have probably heard of–Jim Elliot. Here is a picture of a young man who longs to make much of Christ. He struggles, but so do the rest of us. What I love is that he is so singularly focused. He is truly a soldier of Jesus.

Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. (2 Timothy 2:3-4 ESV)

This book that I am reading is filled with bits of his journal. Enjoy just a taste of this wonderful book that is so encouraging and convicting to me.

“God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn up for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life but a full one, like you, Lord Jesus.” Shadow of the Almighty:The Life and Testament of Jim Elliot page 55

In a letter to his future wife he wrote, “So He has, by His concealing of Himself, given me longings that can only be slaked when Psalm 17:15 is realized.” Psalm 17:15 says, “As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.”  (Psalm 17:15 ESV)

Can you describe your longing for God this way or your deepest desires for your life? I know I need to learn from this 20 year old. How about you?

Tags: desire, god, Jim Elliot, passion, soldier