timbrellstar

Jenn said it well, there is no doubt.

“For shame, James! BLOG!”

Yes, I do feel intense shame for my lack of blog-type-communication. Grant me repentance, Lord!

Anyway, enough about being a blogging slacker, that’s never interesting talk.

We had this guy come and preach at church last night, he was good, I liked him.

He was talking about how God’s thoughts are different to ours, partially based on Isaiah 55:8-9.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

He went to to say how as humans we value things like power, money, stuff, all that kind of thing. He also mentioned that the human view of weakness is not in line with God’s. Being weak seems a bad thing to us, where God loves weakness in us, it allows Him to show His power.

I think that’s the key really. God’s power, God’s Glory. That’s where humans and God don’t really have the same mind. To know where we are falling short we need to know what God values above all things.

We like to think that God loves us, it’s a nice thought lets face it! He does love us! More than we can comprehend or imagine. We have this watered down view of love, even when we are at our best, which can never come close to God, who IS love.

The problem with this is that often we when focus on the fact that God loves us, it becomes all about us, and that’s the trap, and it’s a problem which if we don’t get our thinking right can cause us much trouble, and cost us much Joy.

So to get to the point; what does God value above all things?

The answer is that He values Himself above all things. His Glory is His top priority.

Perhaps I am totally wrong, but sometimes I think we like to think that God’s top priority is saving us, and loving us. Well, I can’t say it isn’t, God is God, His purposes are indeed higher than ours, and we can’t really do His mind justice with our thinking.

However, not everyone is saved. So He must have a higher purpose.

I could dig in that hole all day, but the point of this is that, if the thing that God value’s above everything is Himself, His Glory, then surely we should value the same thing, above all things.

I never really understood this before I heard John Piper. It felt like God opened my eyes to something awesome, something I had totally missed all my life. It felt like God flipped my head around, from hearing nothing but “God loves you, God came to save you, it’s all about you” to “God is awesome! Look at Him! Be amazed by his power, see and savour the Glory of God, He’s made a way you can be saved so you can look at this Glory, and enjoy Him forever!”.

That’s the difference. Often we want to be made much of, but God want us to make much of Him.

The human heart can feel offended by this. Like, “How sad is God? That He needs our praise? That He wants us to make Him feel good about Himself?!”, but that again is a perfect example of fallen hearts. We are still looking at ourselves, rather than God who is infinitely more valuable.

If someone gives you something valuable, you’re pretty stoked about it, right? Well, God is giving us Himself. He wants us to enjoy Him forever, and through the Gospel, He’s made that possible.

Ok, well I am going to stop there. I haven’t written anything for ages, and I’m not sure I’m getting to the point

But think about what you value. Think about what you’re priorities are in life, and beyond this life. Do you “enjoy” God? What do you think the point of salvation is? So often as Evangelical Christians it seems like we’re preaching that people need to be saved, and we take it no further. Saved for what? So we can go out and save more?

Be careful not to miss the point. God wants to make our Joy complete and satisfy us with that which is most valuable, Himself. If we look to God for all we need, if we place all our hope in Him, then He will satisfy is, and He will be Glorified.

As John Piper likes to say “God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him”.

Make any sense?