A monk and his young disciple went out for a walk by the ocean one day, speaking about the deep things of God. The elderly monk with a gleam in his eye suddenly turned to his student and asked him poignantly, "Do you desire God?" The young man, surprised, responded, "Of course I do, teacher!" The monk firmly took the student's arm and dragged him out into the water, just where the waves were breaking, and with surprising strength pushed the young student under the waves and held him there for a brief moment. Pulling him up, the monk asked the student again, "Do you desire God?"... and the student, shocked and gasping for breath, said, "Yes, teacher, yes, I do!" Immediately, the monk pulled the student under the water again, this time for longer... when he pulled him up, he asked the student once again, "Do you desire God?" "Y-y-yes!!" the student gasped between breaths of air, wide-eyed now and wondering what got into his teacher. Once more the monk pulled the student under the water, this time for a much longer time, and when he pulled the student out, he asked him one more time, "Do you desire God?" The student did not respond, clearly angry with his elder instructor, as he filled his lungs with air... and the only words that came out of his mouth were "Air... I need air..." The monk pulled the recovering student back to shore and they sat down on a log. When the student finally got his breath back, he looked angrily at his teacher and said, "What were you thinking, teacher, you almost drowned me!!" The teacher looked solemnly at the student and uttered these words, "You do not truly desire God until you desire Him as much as you desired air just now."
May we desire God above all else, knowing that He is our Air and our Life. A desperate longing for God each day will result in a depth of relationship with Him more than we could imagine...
