My view on life has been radically altered and made more biblical and more in line with God’s will over the last few weeks. This tremendous shift has been primarily at the hands of two John Piper talks. So I preface this post with the fact that these ideas are not my own and since this is a new radical idea for me I need correction and help in adherence to orthodoxy from my brothers. So I second James’ last preface in welcoming correction. In this post, I’ll start with the problem I have lived under up until this point and then I’ll share the solution I have found. In my next post, I will share some of the implications of this solution I have found.
My issue (maybe yours too) is: I have never been able to reconcile the ideas of glorifying God and God being loving. We are commanded by Him through the bible to glorify Him. This is apparent when the God inspired psalms sing praises to God. Ephesians 1:4b-6 says He chose us to glorify him. Isaiah in 43:6b-7 quotes God as saying that He created us for his glory. In Luke 2:10b-14 we see the birth of Jesus, the focus of history; and the point is glory to God. In Philippians 1:9-11 (pay attention to the beginning and the end) Paul is asking God to glorify God. Paul told the Thessalonians that Christ was returning to be glorified. It is clear that my purpose is centered in glorifying God. It is also clear, in creating this purpose for me, that God is terribly God centered. My initial response to this God centeredness is to think it the vainest thing I have ever seen. Our God cannot be loving. This obviously is not true. So what is the problem?
Some would suggest that the problem is our definition of love. You can easily talk about it that way but I think we know what love is. Love is essentially doing whatever is best for a person even at great cost to oneself. I think we get this; even across other cultures. I think our problem is confusion about how to do what is best for people. The compass we use to love people is broken; it’s pointing in the wrong direction. We sometimes think a person can self sufficiently live their best life possible and so build them up telling them they are a good person and things will be ok. Also we think we or something else can allow them to live their best life possible; again encouraging them toward these things. Now these encouragements work if that person, us or other thing is truly the greatest thing in all existence and if that object can give them the best possible life. As we try to love people we all too frequently direct people at things that are not truly great, good and fulfilling. These things do not last and cannot provide us the best life possible. The very brief list of objects we direct ourselves and others towards includes wealth, education, relationships with people, right living and beauty. In actuality this list includes just about everything under the sun. We frequently point people and ourselves in every direction but the right one. We have great motive but poor method.
In contrast to these objects God is truly great, good and fulfilling. So God, being perfect and holy, glorifies himself, out of love, to our great benefit. At great cost to himself God gets our attention and points at himself through Christ’s death. This is apparent when Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane first asks that he would be glorified. The point of his entire life and journey to the cross was to get our attention and point us to the one thing that would truly satisfy us; namely the triune-God. God is not vain. Since He is infinitely good He is infinitely loving in glorifying himself.
My response to this first set of ideas is peace. I can finally relax and rest in the purpose I have always been told by the Church: glorifying God. I can do that because in glorifying God I get to pursue my greatest and only satisfaction in life. Praise God; how great it is that he reconciles these two ideas.
I have also struggled with this statement that God is the most loving being in the universe but He is also all about Himself. I think your right on it though. We can't look to Him from our own perspective. We're just ants. We've got to learn to look at Him from His own perspective that He truly is the only source of life in this world. That He is the most soul satisfying thing ever. We need Him.
Posted by: Jason | July 06, 2007 at 11:09 AM