Consider the following conversation with a college student recently:

“So what’s going on with you spiritually?” I asked through the steam of two cups of coffee.
“You know, I’m doing okay, but really struggling in a certain area.”
At which point the coming minutes became relatively predictable.
“Hmm,” I said, trying to remain at height with the conversation, “would you feel comfortable unpacking the struggle a little more?”
“Yeah…I guess…I mean, I think a lot of people struggle with it, too…it’s just that, well, I don’t really know what to do about it. Like…I don’t really know why it’s so bad lately.”
“Well,” I said, seeing shame embodied before me, “let’s try to at least get this “it” on the table, and then maybe we’ll go from there.”
“Okay…well, it’s just this problem with…lust…I think about the opposite sex and sex and just lustful stuff all the time.”
“Okay,” I said, “talk to me about those thoughts a little more.”
“Ummm, I don’t know what else to say…it’s just like really bad and really gross.”
At this point the student became more frustrated at the “it,” or the self, or something of the two. “It’s like I can’t get lustful thoughts out of my head. And they come-up at random times, like while I’m trying to study, or watch TV, or even trying to pray!?”
“Seems like God is unveiling a lot here. Thank you for being willing to talk about it. It’s clearly been burdening you a lot.”
“Yeah…yeah, it really has,” the student said, looking down at the table. “I hate it. And I hate me when I hate it. And I can’t imagine how God would want anything to do with this—and definitely me in this.”

As I’ve started to explore “lust” with God, I’ve come upon some pretty interesting ends—well, not ends maybe, but at least entrances into beginnings worth conversing about. How does this four-letter word carry such power in our Christian lives, and such persistence in our Christian journeys? How does something so good and potentially opportunistic, become such an evil in an untraceable matter of seconds? According to dictionary.com, lust is defined as:

1. intense sexual desire or appetite.
2. uncontrolled or illicit sexual desire or appetite; lecherousness.
3. a passionate or overmastering desire or craving (usually fol. by for): a lust for power.
4. ardent enthusiasm; zest; relish: an enviable lust for life.
5. Obsolete.
a. pleasure or delight.
b. desire; inclination; wish
6. to have intense sexual desire.
7. to have a yearning or desire; have a strong or excessive craving
(synonyms: crave, hunger, covet, yearn)

Nothing too surprising, maybe, but of further interest is the etymology of lust, exposing original usages of, “joyful and merry,” and some years later, “full of healthy vigor.” Christological interpretation moved-in, however, and transitioned us into lust’s full-on negative lens. Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary explained it in two ways: sinful longings* and objects of desire**. Must this natural, designed tendency always be boxed as sin*** though—always branded as "bad?" Moreover, what if lust actually had the potential to bridge a good—to act as a gateway into prayer, and no less, “glorying God?” What if lust could be explored as an aspect of our humanity, like breathing? And what if the current (culture, Church, and Enemy) obsession with lust deflated to a boastful potential of vigor for Jesus—viewed as a means, not an end--with plausible gain, not guilt? What if lust was a gift?

*Romans 1.21                                                                                                                                                                                 **Mark 4.19                                                                                                                                                                                     ***I’m speaking of sin here as our inherently self-ward make-up ingrained in my flesh. When it comes down to it, I will choose me, or my ways, over yours. We’re infinitely bound to choosing the selfish choice, over the selfless one. Though it doesn’t have to rule over us, it’s a part of us, and will always gonna ride on our shoulder. Until Jesus returns, inclinations of our hearts naturally bend away from God, not toward Him. This is why the Christian message professes a “need for a Savior.” Problem is, we often treat is like it’s a one-time, seal the deal profession that changes the DNA of our inner makings. Versus a need for Jesus and the actualities of the Cross as ongoing. We can’t effect our sanctification (growth toward God). That’s God’s deal, and happens in God’s timing. Our role is just to show-up to the given present reality. Read the book of Romans for a more robust theology here.