How Badly Do You Want It?

Imagine this: You're working on an important project for your job. It’s high stakes—if you do well, there’s a raise on the line. If not, your job might be in jeopardy. So you’re laser-focused. While your friends are out watching the game, hanging out, or partying, you’re grinding—researching, writing, waking up early to finish it. Why? Because it matters to you.

Now here’s a twist.

The night before your assignment is due, you get a call from emergency medical staff. Your spouse is in the hospital. Critical condition. A rare disease. The doctors aren’t hopeful. There’s one potential cure—in another country, still in testing, and it’s up to you to figure out how to get it.

What would you do?

Would you stay home and finish your project? Of course not. You’d drop everything to be by their side. You’d do whatever it took—travel the globe, sell your car, mortgage your house, risk it all—because you love them.

Where Are Your Priorities?

That’s the power of love. We sacrifice for what matters most. The value we place on something determines how far we’re willing to go for it.

Jesus taught this exact truth in a parable:

“The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”
—Matthew 13:45-46

That pearl was worth everything to the merchant. That’s how Jesus wants us to see His kingdom. And it’s how He sees us.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”
—John 3:16

God’s love is proven by His actions. He gave everything to win your heart.

What’s Your Response?

In Luke 14, Jesus tells the story of a man who threw a feast. The invitations went out—but the guests all made excuses.

• “I bought a field.”

• “I have oxen to test.”

• “I just got married.”

Their priorities were elsewhere. They missed out on the feast because something else mattered more.

And then Jesus drops this hard truth:

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even their own life, such a person cannot be My disciple.”
—Luke 14:26

Jesus isn’t saying to literally hate your family. He’s saying: If anything ranks higher than Me, you cannot be My disciple. He must be your highest priority. Your deepest desire.

The Pearl of Great Price

If you want to see this kind of commitment in action, look at the apostle Paul. He once had everything: position, respect, education, religious authority. But after encountering Jesus, he considered it all worthless.

“I count all things as loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord… I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.”
—Philippians 3:7-8

The Greek word for “garbage” here is strong—it means refuse, dung. Paul is saying, "Everything I once held dear is now nothing compared to knowing Jesus."

He lived with a single focus:

“Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
—Philippians 3:13-14

His motto was clear: No turning back.

How Badly Do You Want Jesus?

Paul lived sacrificially—not because he had to, but because the love of Christ compelled him.

He writes:

“The love of Christ compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all… and He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and rose again.”
—2 Corinthians 5:14-15

Paul was beaten, imprisoned, shipwrecked, mocked, and ultimately killed—because he believed Jesus was worth everything.

So I ask again: How badly do you want Jesus?

How much effort are you willing to put in to grow your relationship with Him? What are you willing to sacrifice to follow Him? Would you skip the game? Get up early? Give more generously? Leave behind relationships or habits that hold you back?

The Honest Answer

Sometimes, if we’re honest, the answer is: not that badly. That’s okay. You don’t have to fake it. Jesus already knows your heart.

But here’s the good news: you don’t have to generate love for Him on your own.

You cannot change your heart on your own. But you can give Him your will.

Just focus on the cross. Let His love melt and subdue your heart. The more you behold Him, the more your priorities will change. Love begets love.

“It is not a belief in the theory of the atonement that will save the soul. It is faith in the fact that Jesus died for our transgressions that melts and subdues the heart.” —Ellen White

A New Year, A New Commitment

Whatever happened in the past is behind you. This year is a fresh opportunity. You can say:

“Jesus, I want You to be the pearl of great price in my life. I want You to be what I seek with all my heart.”

So, how badly do you want it? How badly do you want Him?

Let’s live for Jesus. Whatever it takes. Whatever the cost.