Desiring God Wednesday

I was reminded Monday evening about the brevity of life here on earth.

Our family had finished supper and was getting settled in and getting ready for bed. Except me and Cecily. We had to make a Target and Staples run for some school supplies. You know those extra ones the teachers let you know about AFTER school starts and you've already bought everything. Yeah, those :(

Anyway, it was calm outside, no wind, no rain. And all of a sudden everything on our lunai shifted from one side to the other. Bentley's basketball goal fell over and the house kind of "thudded". Our neighbor called and said that a funnel cloud had just touched down somewhere down the street. The neighbor's outside swing had been lifted and flung over the pool of the neighbor next to her. Mike discovered yesterday that a little piece of our roofing had been peeled back.

Now, when this happened Monday evening I wasn't all that rattled over it. But, I have thought alot about it since then.

• What if my house....
• What if my car...
• What if my family...
• What if...

You have to understand how calm it was outside and then all of a sudden this thud and swirl of wind. Yes, I was reminded of the brevity of my life on earth and how it is just a vapor. Here and then gone. All the while I continue to read Piper's "Desiring God". Now, my house, my car and certainly my family are valuable and important things. They are gifts from my heavenly Father, and I am thankful for them.

In chapter two, "Conversion: The Creation of a Christian Hedonist", Piper says this:
"The aim of this chapter is to show the necessity of conversion and to argue that it is nothing less than the creation of a Christian Hedonist. I don't mean you have to use this phrase, or even like this phrase. I mean that no one is a Christian who does not embrace Jesus gladly as his most valued treasure, and then pursue the fullness of that joy in Christ that honors Him."

Matthew 10:37 reads, "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."

This doesn't mean that I shouldn't take care of the material things I have or even that it is some evil thing that I plan for nice things. It doesn't mean that I sit around all day with my face in my Bible, praying to the neglect of my home and family. However, I think it does mean that I must evaluate myself on a daily basis as to whether or not God is my "pearl of great price", my ultimate Treasure.

Piper goes on to say in the chapter, "No one will ever understand the necessity of conversion who does not know why God created us. He created us "in His image" so that we would image forth His glory in the world."

How am I "imaging forth His glory in the world"?

I think Piper's point in this chapter is that we can't "image forth" His glory until we know The Glory Himself. How do we come to know God? When we experience regeneration and conversion and have saving faith. Piper says, "The tree of faith grows only in the heart that craves the supreme gift that Christ died to give: not health, not wealth, not prestige - but God! Test yourself here. There are many professing Christians who delight in God's gifts, but not God. Would you want to go to heaven if God were not there, only His gifts?"

"When Christ calls us to a new act of obedience that will cost us some temporal pleasure, we call to mind the surpassing value of following Him, and by faith in His proven worth, we forsake the worldly pleasure. The result? More joy! More faith! Deeper than before. And so we go on from joy to joy and faith to faith."

If you have happened upon this post and you don't know Christ or have any idea about all this talk about joy, I would be honored to speak with you further. If you are looking for joy in your life you will only find a joy that weathers any storm, a joy that is deep and abiding in your life by knowing Christ, God's Son.

It would be my pleasure to tell you more about Him! You can contact me by email at jenmom1707@yahoo.com.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy
and peace in believing."
Romans 15:13

Let me hear from you,
Jennifer