I became familiar with John Piper even before I started seminary in 2000. A pastor of mine introduced me to his book Desiring God. The main quote of John Piper's is "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." That one quote means more to me now then it did when I first heard it. I will come back to the quote at the end of this post...stay tuned.
I opened up my ESV app on my phone the other day (just being honest, I didn't open my Bible, my phone is easier to hold when feeding the baby at 2am), and opened it to Galatians. It's so neat how, within the first 5 verses, God had convicted me of sin and given me His precious Word to meditate on.
"(Jesus Christ) who gave Himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever, Amen." (Galatians 1:4-5)
This verse has so many key points. Here we go:
- Jesus was given for us. Given by whom: the Father. God in His graciousness gave filthy sinners His beloved Son.
- He was given for our sins: even our good works (filthy rags) need salvation.
- He was given to deliver us from this present evil age. He basically came to free us from the tyranny of sin. Paul was writing to the church at Galatia, who lived in an evil time. We, here in 2012, live in an evil age. Let me illustrate just today. I am sitting here with my foot on a rocker-sleeper looking at a precious little boy sleep away (believe me, I am grateful). As I pull out the iPad and read blogs that I love, I find myself wanting a different life. Right now my life is my son and my husband. One is definitely easier than the other. Eric doesn't wake up 4 times a night and need feeding. Baby E doesn't know what potty training is. But, God has given me a special privilege that He has given to no other person. No one else in this entire world gets to be Elijah's Mom. I do. My sin in this: not being content with where God has me and what God has given me. Maybe some other things will come up later in life like they were in my life prior to this last month, but that is for Him to design. DIScontentment = sin. So for me, one vice I have to be careful of is how I use the internet and how it can grow discontentment in me. Discontentment is sin and one that I have to combat daily.
- Our Father God knows how to give good gifts. James 1 says that and I have come to know this fully well.
- Why did God the Father do all of this? Why did God send His only begotten Son to die on a cross for sinners and enemies? Was it solely for our good that He did this? No. He did this, as this verse says, for HIS glory. He gets all of it. We can take none of the credit for our salvation. We did nothing to earn it. We did nothing to receive it.
All the hours of our lives should reflect this one purpose: live free of sin (by God's grace and the enablement of the Holy Spirit) for God's glory. God is infinitely glorious and we need to live for that glory.
So, how we can today (I'm talking to myself here), show God's infinite glory to this world? Be satisfied in God and God alone - for HIS ultimate glory in this world.
The Reformers were on to something when they put this as the last of the five solas.
