John Piper is smart. I am reading ‘A Godward Life’ and so a lot of my devotional time in the next few weeks and months will likely begin there.
If my (fill in the blank) betrayed that God had not even met my own needs, I would be fraudulent.
I begin serving as a faith trainer for children at my church tomorrow. If through that, I showed that God had not met my own needs, I would be a fake to them. I’d only help them grow in rebellion.
If my family could see an underlying bitterness, I would show that God is no better to me than anything else that anyone uses to feel better. No better than drugs, or alcohol, or material things.
At work… if I talk about my faith, and then show that I’m only happy tearing others down and having my own way, I show them that Christ is only my version of 1000 different versions of how we all cope. And this one is tough.
It’s our only duty to enjoy our Father. I love to get presents. But as I grow, I realize that getting a present isn’t just about getting something. It’s about celebrating the one who gave the present. Celebrating that they thought enough of me to give me something.
The key is to be satisfied in God, for him being God, creator and sustainer of all things. Not because you got the job, or the husband or wife, or even something amazing like a fruitful ministry. To care more about the gifts is about the same as receiving a dozen roses from your significant other, and ignoring the significant other as you walk around flaunting the roses… even as they wilt and shrivel and die.
God is the eternal giver and we embrace Him as our Father and King, and enjoy Him. I pray today that as I start tomorrow, as I disciple friends, as I work and live that I will know that everything in my life flows from the satisfaction I have in God who created me, and sustains me, and wants me to know Him, and not just the effects of His being present…. but His Presence!
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