So, here’s the first of my posts inspired by Passion 2010. John Piper gave an awesome sermon based on the question “Is God a megalomaniac?” I can’t come close to doing it justice. Some of his points included God loves God more than He loves you, if He didn’t that would be sinning because it would be placing someone above God, He made us for the purpose of glorifying Him, our pinnacle of joy comes in giving God glory, and God showed His love for us by creating us with the purpose of giving Him glory and deriving joy from that.
So, here’s my attempt at putting in in layman’s terms for my family group at Passion:
We make cars to serve our own desires. We do what it takes to keep them running. Cars are functioning at their best when they are serving the purpose for which they were made, otherwise we would have made them differently. We “love” them, but our primary purpose for cars is for them to serve our needs.
I know that doesn’t even come close to doing it justice, but somehow it made sense to us sitting in a circle there. God does love us, but He values Himself and His glory above us. God did create us, however, to be at our best when we are acknowledging that. To quote Rev. Piper “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him” How then could that not be love towards us?
Pslams 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
[ps, I apologize in advance if I have butchered the theology of this, it's just my best attempt to unpackage Piper's sermon]
I have never thought about God's love in that way. It is radical! and true.
Thanks for sharing, Zach!
Wow thanks, that really helped. It is something that is just hard to imagine but we were actually talking about that tonight in our Bible study and putting out 2 cents in. But thanks!
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I often think of God in the context of a parent. Parents have children for a variety of reasons… and for the most part, parents try very hard to be good to the child, instruct them, help them, love them, correct them, etc… and they also hope the child will love, honor, obey/respect the parent(s). A good parent will even love their child despite the child's misbehaviors… and keep trying to help them re-learn to do the right things, and will forgive their bad deeds.