I had the privilege to go to John Piper's conference here in Arizona last night, finishing up today. The title of the conference is God is the Gospel, and John is laboring to explain what he means by saying it as many ways as he can. It is simply marvelous stuff.
One of the first things he offered was a vignette. His daughter-in-law and his granddaughter were flying in to Minneapolis. The mother looked out of the window and saw a beautiful cloud formation with the sun behind it and was awed. She pointed it out to her daughter. "Look! Isn't that beautiful? It's a little bit like heaven." To which her 5-year-old daughter said, "But, Mommy, Jesus isn't there."
Piper asked this: "Is that okay with you?" Say that God promised you heaven. You would walk on streets of gold, never want for anything, never have sorrow. You'd see your loved ones again, never suffer, have eternal joy ... but God wouldn't be there, would that be okay with you? Piper said, "If you get that, then I'm done and we can go home."
How many of us love God for what He gives us rather than for who He is? How many people come to Christ for wholeness, for repair, for gain rather than for Him? If we can get rid of guilt, improve our marriage, make our children better children, get more money, have happier, healthier lives, then we want Jesus. But it doesn't take a Christian to want those things, and when that is our motivation ... we're still lost.
Perhaps Asaph said it best: "Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And besides Thee, I desire nothing on earth" (Psa. 73:25). When we arrive there, we are beginning to understand that God is the Gospel.
4 comments:
very excellent. You got me thinking on a question I had never thought about before. Thanks!
:)
I like this. Great points made by John Piper. Thank you for sharing this truth. I don't think it is about quite what I have been considering, but still it connects.
Yesterday, I was speaking about why Tozer is probably my favorite Christian writer outside of authors of the Bible.
I was saying, it is because he challenges me to pursue God and seek His holiness in truth, without trying to get me to "take sides" in doctrinal divisions. He gently beckons me to become holy as God is holy. He reminds me that this life is not about me and a god that serves my will. It is supposed to be about THE only GOD and I am supposed to be serving His will.
How sad that every day I must be reminded to take my eyes and heart off my will and place them back on our Lord and His will.
When I think of heaven, I think of seeing Him face to face in all His glory. I think about being in His presence worshipping Him continuously without the distractions of my selfish whims. If God is not present then what can outshine my selfish whims (to the point they will no longer exist)? Without God, it COULD NOT be Heaven to me. I know "me," I don't want to be stuck with the "self" me forever! I don't want to fail everyday forever at keeping my eyes and heart on Jesus!
The Holy Spirit in me refuses to be somewhere where God is not.
I was challenged by this. Seems God has a theme for my life these days about desiring Him and Him alone. I read something this morning in the devotional My Utmost for His Highest that reminded me of your article and goes along with this same idea. (I apologize for taking it out of context.)
...The only way is by allowing nothing of the old life to remain, and by having only simple, perfect trust in God —- such a trust that we no longer want God’s blessings, but only want God Himself. Have we come to the point where God can withdraw His blessings from us without our trust in Him being affected?...
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