"The critical question for our generation—and for every generation—is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?"
- God Is The Gospel, John Piper
There's a vast difference in believing in something and loving it. I'm quick to say I believe in God. Most people are. But what if that's not what it's about? What if God is a real person, and He doesn't want His existence to be merely acknowledged? We as humans have this insatiable desires to be desired and wanted and to belong and be cherished. What if that's rooted in God? What if God's desire for us is that we actually find Him beautiful and satisfying? What if being close to God actually makes all the other good things in life pale in comparison?
What haunts me is, what if it's not just a "what if"? What if belief isn't good enough? The Bible says that the demons believe in God and shudder. They certainly won't be with God in heaven. How many of us have been deceived, however unintentionally, into thinking that believing in God's existence and being a good person is what it means to be a Christian? What if being a Christian is solely rooted in whether or not you really are in love with God and prefer Him over anything else this life has to offer? How many of us would be able to say that's true of ourselves? I know I can't say that with much confidence. So many other things clearly take precedence. I give God my leftovers. I fit Him in when it's convenient.
I don't feel guilt-ridden with this line of thinking. It just makes me long to love God like that, because that's the first and greatest commandment that Jesus focused on. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart." I want to love God with all my heart, not little pieces of it.
wow, good post!
ReplyDeleteIt is truly convicting indeed to think about how much of life we enjoy devoid of seeing that joy deeply rooted in the giver of life and joy. I was thinking, how could we love life, love others, love anything if we did not know love? If love was not first introduced to us by the maker of love? If we were not loved first? I was reading this morning that "we are built to love love. God loves us. We love God. Christ has loved us though we have not seen him. This news is good exactly because we want to spend eternity with him. An eternity in relative prosperity without him would actually be hell to us." But I was thinking, an eternity of even utter prosperity without him would be hell to us because nothing but him can satisfy us! HE is our heart's desire.
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