The purpose of being a Christian isn't about being a good person, going to church every Sunday, or praying before you eat. It's not to read your Bible every day, pray before you eat, or sing songs to God in church. It's not to serve the community, the Church, or your family. Yes, these are all great things to do, but they only revolve around the main purpose. The purpose of being a Christian is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. I've been talking a lot about enjoying God for who He is so I thought I'd take some time and expound on it. What about Him would make me want to enjoy Him? What has He done to make me want to enjoy Him?
The ability to enjoy God comes from an understanding of who He is and what He has done. Shai Linne (a Christian rap artist) describes God in one of his songs: "God is the universe's Creator and Sustainer, plus the only Savior, there is no one greater/ He's triune, holy, omnipotent, omniscient, absolute/ Loving, sovereign, righteous are a few of His attributes." God has ultimate authority over everyone and everything in creation: from the smallest part of the atom to the largest galaxy; from the lowest, poorest, weakest person to the highest, richest, most powerful person. He is perfectly righteous and perfect in justice: He can do no wrong and whatever He does is right. He loves mercy and is slow to anger, but He hates evil and His judgements are swift. He is the most fearful being to behold, yet He is most beautiful and magnificent. The list goes on and on..
God has done and is doing great things. He created the world in six literal 24-hour days, He gave Israel victory over the Canaanites in the Promised Land, He kept for Himself a remnant of believing people while the rest of Israel turned away from Him, He has kept the people of Israel alive and well without a homeland for almost 2,000 years, He became a man to take on the wrath of God for sins, He rose again the third day defeating death, He fills His people with His power to be bold for Him in the spreading of His Gospel, before time He had a plan to save sinners from their wretchedness, He lets His people come before Him without intervening priests, He made us His friends... Again, the list goes on and on and on... We should enjoy God for who He is because He is the most enjoyable Person in the universe. We should enjoy Him because of what He has done in history and for what He has done in our lives as believers.
The world promises enjoyment through many things: money, television, movies, food, sports, cars, sex, etc. But what the world doesn't tell you is that these things will never satisfy that desire of enjoyment because those things don't last forever. That's why people always have to have the "latest and greatest" stuff. It seems like the stuff we buy are out of style or old within a year of buying them. The world tells us "The next iPhone will be so much better than the last one!" or "The new [insert car here] has so many more features to offer than last year's model!" We
If you are a Christian, you've experienced the great love of God in your life through Him saving your soul from eternal damnation, you've experienced the grace and mercy of God, and you've experienced a changed life from your old ways of sin. Bask in the rays of who God is and what He does! Enjoy the love of God! Over and over again Psalms talks about how the steadfast love of God endures forever. That's something the things of this world can never compete with. So why entangle yourself with the things of this world? Why try to get pleasure out of something that won't last forever? Why try to enjoy something that you can't take with you when you die? It doesn't make sense. Now am I saying that you shouldn't enjoy the things of this world? Absolutely not. We can enjoy the things of this world as long as the things we enjoy aren't sin and prohibited by God. Remember whatever you enjoy more than God is an idol. Keep yourself in check when it comes to enjoying stuff. Remember that whatever you enjoy most will be reflected most in your life: God or the world.
With all that being said, just remember that God should be our ultimate source of enjoyment. There are two purposes for being a Christian. The first is to glorify God for who He is and what He's done. The second is to enjoy Him forever. Pray with me today that we will enjoy God more today than yesterday and more tomorrow than today.
Blessings,
Nick
