Through the annals of Christian history, it has been preserved that after the ascension of Christ the Apostle Peter would often cry. When an inquisitive observer asked why, Peter, with deep passion in his eyes, replied, “Desiderio Domini,” a Latin expression meaning, “Because I deeply long to be with my Lord.”¹ Of course when Peter said it, it would have been in Koine Greek, the common language of the Mediterranean world at the time. But “Desiderio Domini” has been how the statement has been preserved for more than a thousand years.

Desiderio Domini

“Desiderio Domini” captured for the Apostle a state of mind and heart. It was the drive deep in his will and the desire of his heart. It portrayed the glorious reality that he would see the return of the King and stand before Him face to face once again. It wasn’t just a mindset: it was a “heartset.” He knew that life was contained in a Person, he knew that this world wasn’t all there was. He knew that Jesus had promised He would return and in doing so, would once again be with His people, His family.

Created for More

“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”
C.S. Lewis

There is a desire in all of us for absolute fulfillment and we go feeling about in the darkness from one temporary satisfaction to another. Eternity is in our hearts² and we cannot be satisfied until we reach out and grasp it. Or rather, until we have been grasped by it, for the Scripture states, “We love him, because he first loved us”³ and that “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”⁴

The truth is, “eternity” is all wrapped up in a Person. We cannot find ultimate fulfillment until we find the One who is fulfillment Himself: Jesus. The Scripture says Jesus “fills all in all”⁵ and “in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”⁶ Paul prays that we would “know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”⁷

Longing for the New World

Do you long for the new world? For a world with no sin, no pain, no brokenness or hate or disorder? A world where righteousness and justice and love is all there is? A world where there is a good, loving and just King who is our dearest friend, elder brother, our joint heir and ruler under the great God and Father of all?

This longing for the new world and particularly the King of that new world, Jesus Himself, was what Peter longed for and what brought tears to his eyes. Peter loved Jesus and it showed in the actions of his life and in the tears of his eyes.

The question for you and I is do we relate to what the beloved Apostle felt? Do we long for what he longed for? Do we long to be with Jesus as he did?

If not, may we not allow any guilt to control us and cause us to hide and despair but instead run to be with Jesus. For it is only in His presence that this longing can be attained and cultivated. Peter didn’t just automatically receive this longing, it was because he had spent time with Jesus; following Him, ministering with Him, and sacrificing for Him. Jesus desires us to know Him and be with Him in that same way. He desires us to experience the strength and spiritual benefits of His unfathomable love for us.⁸

What is Love anyway?

What is love anyway? In our culture, love is mostly a feeling that comes and goes and changes with the tide of circumstances. It’s something that for most of us means emotions and words. However, love is more easily feigned in words than in actions.

Biblical love is much different. True love is the steadfast commitment to earnestly and sacrificially act for the well-being and good of another, to consider another’s needs and interests as more important than your own, and to do unto them as you’d have them do to you.

Thus it carries with it commitment and loyalty and is primarily action based, not feeling based. “For better or worse, in life or death, I’m with you.” It is not that there is no true love in this world, but that it is few and far between and that the love that we see is only a shadow of the ultimate love that is in found in Jesus.

This is the kind of love Jesus has for us and it is no feigned love. For he displayed it for the world to see on a brutal cross. There is no greater display of love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.⁹

Jesus backed up His love for us with His actions. This is the kind of love that was deep in Peter’s heart and caused such a deep affection for and longing to be with his King. And it is that kind of affection that compelled Peter and all the Apostles to live their lives for Christ no matter the circumstances or threats. In fact, 11 of the 12 (-Judas, +Paul) were killed for their faith and, ultimately, love for Jesus.

An Invitation to Seek Desiderio Domini

“Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
Hebrews 11:6 NKJV

Do you desire Desiderio Domini? Do you want to long to be with Jesus in that way? If so, then seek Him with all your heart and you will have it. When you seek Jesus with all your heart you will find Him.¹⁰

My challenge for us is this:

Make it a priority to be with Jesus (Knowing that being with Him will cultivate Desiderio Domini).
Believe that He rewards those who diligently seek He (He will be found by those who seek).
Remember that this world is not your home (You were made for so much more).

“…Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, never to despise, or to be unthankful for, these earthly blessings, and on the other, never to mistake them for the something else of which they are only a kind of copy, or echo, or mirage. I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that country and to help others to do the same.”
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Footnotes:

Martyrs Mirror or The Bloody Theater, first published in Holland in 1660 in Dutch by Thieleman J. van Braght
Ecclesiastes 3:11
1 John 4:19 – KJV
Romans 5:5 NKJV
Ephesians 1:23 ESV
Psalm 16:11 ESV
Ephesians 3:19 ESV
Ephesians 3
John 15:13
Jeremiah 29:13

If you liked this post, check out:

Memento Mori ~ The Spiritual Benefits of Visiting Graveyards

Coram Deo ~ The Spiritual Benefits of Practicing the Presence of God

Desiderio Domini ~ The Spiritual Benefits of Being with Jesus