I have been doing a lot of thinking about the nature of men's relationships with each other. One of the more vivid examples I know of that illustrates the way men interact is found in Bill Perkins' book When Good Men Are Tempted. I will include an excerpt from the book:

In his best-selling book Don't Stand Too Close To A Naked Man, [Tim] Allen tells about an experience he had while in jail. The event occurred right after he was placed in a holding cell with ten other guys. The first thing he noticed about the cell was that the toilet was in the middle of the room. He probably noticed that because he had some business he needed to take care of. He said he looked at the can, then at the ceiling, then at the can, then at the ten guys in the cell. He wanted to leave. But the door was closed and locked.

He made up his mind that he would not use that can. No way! How could he take a dump with ten other guys watching? Finally, he wrote, "Digestion being as it is, things must emerge. I ambled tentatively to the can. I turned away and started back to my seat, but knew it was no good. I was committed. I sat down and suddenly all the men began moving toward me. I panicked.

"I didn't have to. This still blows my mind.

"What they did was form a horseshoe around me with their backs in my direction." Why had they done that? Allen said, "Because they're men, too. It was a big revelation. These aren't just losers like me, but they're men. They do this so you can have some privacy and no one can see in from the outside."

That last statement is profound because it describes what every man needs. We need friends who understand our fears and offer us protection, men who will stand guard around us during our times of vulnerability and shame.

It's too bad Allen had to go to jail to discover the willingness of men to shelter each other, to stand guard for each other. Because most men aren't forced into such close relationships, they never find that out. As I've talked with men, I've discovered most of them feel that their struggles…are personal. They're private. They're shameful. Like a trip to the can - it's not the sort of thing they want other men to see.

It was several months ago that I first read this quote and it has often been on my mind since then. I absolutely agree with the author's conclusion that men feel that their struggles, whether with lust or finances or marriage or anything else are shameful and deeply personal. From the time we are children men are taught to suppress the expression of pain, fear and helplessness. We are taught that such expression of vulnerability is weakness. Most of us would rather use a toilet in front of other men than confide in them our sin and struggles.

There is nothing feminine or emasculating in confiding our struggles to other men. There is nothing wrong with expressing fear and helplessness to other men. We do not need to do it with hugs and tears and sobbing, nor do we need to use the words "intimacy" or "feelings." We can express love without using the word "love" and can maintain our pride, our dignity, but still allow ourselves to be transparent before others.

I am thankful to have friends in whom I can confide and who are willing to confide in me. I am grateful that God has allowed me to have friends with whom I can talk openly and honestly and who will "lock arms" with me when I need them to. Though it often isn't easy to share with them, it is always rewarding.

This morning in my Bible reading I came across one of my favorite passages in the entire Scripture. It is in Acts 9 and involves just two people - the disciple Ananias and Saul. Saul, notorious for persecuting Christians, has departed Jerusalem after obtaining a letter granting him authority to arrest any Christians he finds in Damascus in order bring them to Jerusalem for trial before the puppet court of the Sanhedrin. But lo and behold, while on the road to Damascus he has a dramatic, life-changing conversion experience where Jesus called to him "Saul, why are you persecuting me?" and then struck him blind. Jesus commanded Saul to go to Damascus and wait to be told what he must do. Saul had those who were traveling with him lead him to the city and he waited for three days and nights without any food or water.

The camera fades out on Saul and now we are introduced to Ananias (not to be confused with Ananias husband of Sapphira who lied to the Holy Spirit or the high priest Ananias) who is called "a disciple at Damascus." The Lord appeared to Ananias in a vision and told him "Arise and go to the street called Straight and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight." God told this disciple to run an errand on His behalf.

I love Ananias' response as he tries to give God a bit of a newsflash. I can just picture Him stammering a bit and starting the sentence with "Ummm…God…?" He says "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name." Ananias had not only heard of how Saul had been decimating the church in Jerusalem, but also knew that he was on the march to Damascus, ready to destroy that church as well. We can well imagine that Ananias and the other believers were probably terrified as they awaited Saul and his cohort, for they knew their lives might be lost for the sake of Christ. And now here God asks Ananias to go and confront the ringleader of their persecutors. Ananias takes the opportunity to remind God of just who Saul is, giving a few of the man's credentials. After all, he has done "harm…to Your saints in Jerusalem" and is now ready to "bind all who call on Your name" in Damascus.

Ananias showed weakness here. He did not have unwavering trust in God. As a matter of fact, he reminds me of me! I suspect I would have said the same thing to God just in case He had somehow forgotten a little detail. After all, this Saul guy was dangerous! Didn't God know that?

God did know that. He tells Ananias "Go, for he is a chosen vessel of mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My sake." God knew exactly who Saul was and gave Ananias the assurance that He was still in control. As a matter of fact, He was going to use this man to do incredible things for His kingdom. Saul, the chief of sinners, was God's chosen means of bringing the gospel to great and small, Jew and Gentile alike.

Ananias is obedient and has the great honor of laying his hands on Saul in the name of the Holy Spirit. At that moment Saul's blindness is ended. As a symbol of the end of his spiritual blindness he is baptized, probably by the hand of Ananias himself. We then read that "Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus." Whether at that point Saul was the student or the teacher we do not know.

At this point Ananias fades from the story and we hear of him no more. His role in the drama of Acts is small, yet significant. We see a man who wavered when he heard God's voice, yet despite his initial hesitation he was faithful and obedient. While at first he thought he might have to correct God, in the end he submitted himself and his very life to God's call. God then used this man to further His purposes in launching the career of the most influential of the apostles. Ananias' obedience led to a great harvest for the kingdom.

Have you ever stopped to consider what it must be like to work for Hallmark or another of the companies that creates greeting cards? Imagine spending your whole day attempting to come up with wonderful statements of deep feeling - love, remorse, sympathy - yet without feeling any of the emotions. Imagine having to write words that express sympathy, yet not feeling any sympathy yourself. Or imagine having to write words that can express the deep, passionate love a man has for his wife as they celebrate fifty years of marriage, but without having ever experienced that sort of love yourself. How depressing it must be to spend the whole day writing words of love and passion but then return alone to an empty home.

A lot of Christians worship God in just this way. So often we sing songs with the most wonderful lyrics. We sing "When I survey the wondrous cross, on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride." But when we sing those words, so often it is as if we are single men writing a greeting card to celebrate a fiftieth anniversary - though the words may sound wonderful, they are devoid of any true meaning to us. When we sing "Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me" do we even try to understand just how amazing God's grace is? Have we experienced that grace and allowed it to transform our lives? Do we know that the very grace we sing about is the only thing keeping us from an eternity of separation from God? Do we feel deep love and affection to the giver of Grace?

True worship relies on both feeling and understanding, or as Jesus said, on spirit and truth. Worship that is devoid of feeling and emotion will be dead worship, for the God we serve is worthy of feelings that express His worth. It is the very height of hypocrisy to pay lip-service to God when we do not truly feel affection for Him. At the same time worship needs to be thoughtful. While it engages our feelings it must also engage our minds. Our feelings must have their basis in what we know about God so that the more we know about Him the greater will be our feelings of affection for Him.

Before I married my wife I heard time and again from the wonderful older couples in our church that after forty, fifty or even sixty years of marriage, they continued to love each other more deeply and more intimately. I marveled that this could be true, yet through the first years of my marriage I have already seen that it is not only possible but it is the way God intended marriage to be. I love my wife in a deeper way now than I did the day we exchanged vows. In the ensuing six years we have faced trials together and have spent thousands of hours talking, laughing and crying together. The more I learn about Aileen and the more time I spend with her the greater my feelings of affection for her.

Great knowledge of God must produce great feelings of affection for Him. These feelings of affection give me the burning desire to worship Him. I long to express my feelings, not as a means to some profound end, but simply as an expression of the affection I have for Him. As such worship is not a means to an end, but it is an end in itself.

One of my long-time favorite shows on television is The Antiques Roadshow. It is a show that has been a staple on PBS for many years and on British television for longer than that. The show affords people the opportunity to bring their antique possessions, whether furniture, paintings, toys or anything else, and have them appraised by some of the world's foremost experts in antiquities. Every show the producers single out ten or fifteen items and show an expert providing a detailed description and valuation of the item. Each section closes with the expert telling the owner just what the item is worth. It is always fun to see eyes pop out or to see people jump up and down with excitement as they realize that they have in their possession an item worth tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Every episode we can see junk transformed to treasure.

I suppose my attraction to the show probably stems from my love for history (which I did, after all, spend my college-years studying). I often marvel at the knowledge the antique experts display as they describe the history of a piece of furniture, the man who made it, how much it cost 200 years ago and what it is worth today. I love to watch the expert's excitement as they see items they know are rare and valuable. I stand in amazement not so much at what some of the items are worth but that people are actually willing to pay that price for some of them.

Last night I saw an episode that featured the most valuable item they have ever shown on The Antiques Roadshow (there was one item that was more valuable but the owner wished to remain anonymous). The story was wonderful.

An elderly gentleman from Tuscon, Arizona brought in an old blanket he had inherited several years before. He knew it was old and believed it had a little bit of value - perhaps a few hundred or even a couple of thousands of dollars. After inheriting it he threw it over the back of a rocking chair in his bedroom and had not often thought about it until presented with opportunity to take it to the Raodshow.

With the blanket hanging on a rack behind them, the expert appraiser told the old man that his heart had stopped when he first saw it. Watching the show I could see the excitement written all over the expert's face and extending throughout his body, for he just could not stand still. He began to explain just what the blanket was. It was a Navajo chief's blanket that had been woven in the 1840's. Surviving in wonderful condition, it was one of the oldest intact Navajo weaves to survive to the twenty-first century, and certainly one of only a tiny handful to exist outside of museum collections. He showed the fine detail of the weaving and even showed where it had been torn and repaired shortly after it was first made. You could see the excitement in his eyes as he looked at something he knew was extremely valuable. He knew that sitting before him was more than a blanket - it was a rare national treasure of incredible value.

The appraiser seemed to have trouble even beginning to tell the audience just how important this blanket was. He left no doubt, though, when he told of its value. Because of its rarity and historical significance, he had no trouble assigning a value of somewhere between $350,000 and $500,000. Yes, this elderly gentleman had come to the show carrying a blanket worth almost a half million dollars. He simply could not believe what he was hearing. Choked up and with tears pouring from his eyes he asked to hear the amount again. I honestly thought he might just pass out then and there.

It is safe to say that the blanket the man cavalierly carried in with him was cradled carefully in his arms as he walked out. The blanket had not changed any - it was exactly the same blanket then as it was an hour before, yet something had changed. It was not the blanket, but the man who had changed. What he had seen as a blanket of no extraordinary value he now realized was an extremely rare and valuable national treasure. What he had in his arms was the envy of every Indian collector in the world and of the thousands of people watching the show. What he had liked before, he now loved and treasured.

I remember a day, not too long ago, when I sat in my little office reading my Bible. Now I have had many Bibles in my lifetime and have been reading the Word with some degree of faithfulness since I was just a child. I am sure I have read the entire thing several times through (except, probably, for some of those Minor Prophets!). On this particular morning I came across Hebrews 4 where I read the words "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." I had read those words many times, had heard people preach about them and had read books which sought to exposit them. But that morning, as I read those words, something stirred in my soul. It was as if an appraiser had stood beside me and told me just exactly what it was I was holding in my hands. I began to look up other similar passages - Psalm 119, 2 Timothy 4 and more. As I looked back down at my Bible, it was as if the book had been transformed from a blanket draped casually over my chair to one that was a national treasure. The book was the same, but suddenly I knew of its value. Chills ran down my spine as I appreciated for the first time what a treasure I have in the Bible.

The Bible has never been the same to me since that day. I have not been the same since that day. Rather than being just another book on a rather busy bookshelf, my Bible now stands out as a treasure. More than just words, the Bible is the very words of God! More than ink on a page, the Bible is alive and active. It contains exactly what God wants me to know about Him and about myself. It is the awesome, amazing, living revelation of an awesome, amazing, powerful God to His created beings.

That day, as I stood in awe of the blessing I have in this book, I asked God to continue to impress its value on me and He has been faithful in doing so. I do not presume to have a full understanding of the Bible's importance and value, but I do believe I know far more than I did before. My love and respect for the Word continue to grow. The more I learn of the Word, the more I praise God for bestowing this treasure upon me and the more I stand in awe of His wisdom for revealing Himself to us in this way.

Just as millions of people have dusted off their antiques and hauled them to stadiums or arenas around North America to have them appraised by the experts, I would encourage you to dust off your Bible and ask the Appraiser to impress on you its worth. If you approach Him humbly and with a thirst for wisdom, He will show you the incredible worth of the treasure He has given you.

I was thrilled several years ago to hear that the book The Lord of the Rings was going to be made into a series of epic films. With production budgets in the hundreds of millions of dollars and the bulk of the work being done outside of Hollywood, I knew this series was going to be good! But more than being able to watch a great series of films, I was thrilled to know that a book I had read several times and for which I had great respect would be brought into the mainstream. Not too long ago people who read The Lord of the Rings were considered just a bit weird. When we brought the book up in conversation it would often earn us a look that said "you're not one of those Dungeons and Dragons people, are you?" I am not. I simply enjoy a good story and J.R.R. Tolkien was a master at telling one.

Now that Lord of the Rings has entered the mainstream we who have known and loved the story for many years can finally use its rich depths for purposes of illustration. It is that which I intend to do today.

Tolkien writes about a kingdom called Gondor which for many years has not had a king. While waiting for the rightful heir to come and claim his throne, a series of stewards has been placed in charge of the land. The steward in charge at the time of the events described in the book is named Denethor and he has two sons, Boromir and Faramir, both of whom figure prominently in the story (and subsequently, in the movie). As steward of the land, Denethor has the power of the king but without the title. He is able to make decisions and to pass judgment. He receives the respect and admiration of the people of the land. His primary task is to do whatever is best for the land in the absence of the rightful ruler. In all he does he is to remember his position - to remember that he is not the king. As a constant reminder of his temporary position he is forbidden to rule from the king's throne.

"…awe fell upon him as he looked down that avenue of kings long dead. At the far end upon a dais of many steps was set a throne under a canopy of marble shaped like a crowned helm; behind it was carved upon the wall and set with gems an image of a tree in flower. But the throne was empty. At the foot of the dais, upon the lowest step which was broad and deep, there was a stone chair, black and unadorned, and on it sat an old man gazing at his lap." (Lord of the Rings, page 784)

That man, of course, is the steward. Where the king was allowed the full honor of sitting upon the throne, surrounded by splendor, the steward is consigned to rule from a plain, unadorned chair that sat at the foot of the throne.

Denethor is not a very good steward. He dreads the day the king returns, for he knows that with the return of the king will come his own return to obscurity. He jealously guards the power that had been given him and does not look forward to the day when he will have to relinquish the kingdom to its rightful owner. This attitude affects his decisions, for he often makes decisions based on his own desire for preservation rather than based on what is best for the kingdom he has sworn to protect. We find him saying:

"…the Lord of Gondor is not to be made the tool of other men's purposes, however worthy. And to him there is no purpose higher in the world as it now stands than the good of Gondor; and the rule of Gondor, my lord, is mine and no other man's, unless the king should come again." To this Gandalf replied "Unless the king should come again? Well, my lord Steward, it is your task to keep some kingdom against that even, which few now look to see." (Page 788)

The steward is failing in his duty to properly care for what has been entrusted to him. We learn later that he had been going beyond the care of his office and had become corrupted by the enemy. His abuse of what had been entrusted to him leads to his own corruption.

So why do I use this illustration? I use it because the concept of stewardship is largely foreign to our culture. We understand ownership, borrowing, leasing and mortgaging but have little knowledge of stewardship. Yet it is a crucial concept in the Bible and one that we ought to know well. And here in the mainstream is a wonderful example of stewardship gone wrong.

The Bible tells us that we are stewards of the talents, treasures and gifts God has given to us. Each of us is responsible to be a faithful steward with the gifts and talents with which God has blessed us. Where God has given richly, much is expected in return. At no time does God give us full and final ownership of what He has given us. We need to realize that we are but stewards.

Where God gives me treasure I need to ensure that I do not begin to believe that it is mine. I need to seek God's will on how He, as king, would have me use it. He has given me His instruction manual in The Bible which gives me the guidelines I need to understand what he would have me do. When God tells me to let go of the money He has entrusted to my care, I need to immediately and cheerfully open my hand and let it go.

God has blessed me with two beautiful children, yet I know that I have them only on trust. God has made me steward of those children. As such I need to dedicate myself to raising them in a way that would please Him, knowing that at any moment He could choose to take them back to Himself.

We will return briefly to our story.

Drunk with corruption and power and unwilling to hand over the kingdom, Denethor, steward of Gondor, takes his own life, ending his years of poor stewardship. His son, Faramir, takes his place. Soon the heir to the throne returns to Gondor and Faramir has an opportunity to prove his character.

"Faramir met Aragorn [the rightful king] in the midst of those there assembled, and he knelt, and said: "The last steward of Gondor begs leave to surrender his office."…Then Faramir stood up and spoke in a clear voice: "Men of Gondor, hear now the Steward of this realm! Behold! One has come to claim the kingship again at last. Here is Aragorn son of Arathorn…Shall he be king and enter into the city and dwell there?" And all the host and all the people cried yea with one voice."

Moments later, when the new king has been crowned, it is Faramir who leads the cries of "Behold the king!"

Faramir was everything his father was not. He was a good steward who looked forward to the return of the king and was willing and ready to hand what had been entrusted to him to its rightful owner. Faramir proved his character.

When the King returns He will ask me if I have been a faithful steward. He will examine the evidence and where He gave me much He will expect much in return. It is my hope and my prayer that I will be faithful with what He has given me, so that I can hear Him say that I have been a good steward, faithfully doing the will of my King. When the King returns I pray that instead of grumbling, instead of holding on, I will be able to let go and lead the chorus of "Behold the king!"

If the chief end of man is to be a Christian Hedonist, there must be a moment where he becomes such - a moment where a Christian Hedonist is created. Having explained that God's quest to be glorified and our quest to receive satisfaction are one and the same, the author now turns to a discussion of conversion, which he says is the creation of a Christian Hedonist. God's desire to be glorified reaches its culmination in the echo of His excellence in the praise of His people. His people are the ones who are called according to His purpose. "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."

The bulk of this chapter contains an exposition of Reformed theology concerning man's condition and God's sovereignty.

1. God created us for His glory. We were created in His image so that we could glorify Him in perfection. We existed for the sole purpose of bringing Him glory.
2. It is the duty of every person to live for the glory of God. Because God is our designer, He has the right to tell us what our duty is. He has told us that our duty is to glorify Him in all we do - to acknowledge his glory, to value it above all and to make it known to the entire world.
3. We have failed to glorify God as we ought. Every human being has failed to live up to his duty. We have all "fallen short of the glory of God" by preferring other things over His glory. We have failed in the duty our Creator has assigned us. Through our sinful deeds we have shown contempt for God, preferring our own wisdom over His.
4. We are all subject to eternal condemnation. Because we have violated the duty God has assigned us, we have been sentenced to be separated from His glory forever. Furthermore, we are sentenced to spend eternity in hell, a place of everlasting torment and punishment. This sentence is just, for we have knowingly violated God's law and are thus deserving of the due punishment.
5. In His mercy God sent Jesus into the world to save sinners by dying in their place and rising from the dead. In contrast to the terrifying news that we justly deserve God's condemnation is this news, that God has provided a substitute. There are now two ways to satisfy God's justice. The first is through eternal condemnation in hell and the second is through the substitutionary death of Christ. Through Christ's sacrifice God's justice is satisfied and His glory remains intact.
6. Those are saved who repent and trust in Jesus. Christ's death did not save everyone. One condition remains and that is to be converted.

Conversion involves repentance and faith. This two must co-exist, for repenting requires turning from the old ways and faith is required to follow Christ. Conversion involves new birth, or theologically, regeneration. Regeneration is a gift of God, bestowed on those He has called. With this act God changes our natures, allowing us to be able to respond positively to Him.

Faith is our act, but one that is only possible because of God's prior act of regeneration. We are responsible before God to repent of our sin and follow and trust in Him. This act is called conversion. Behind the repentance and the faith that turns someone to Christ is a longing for the pleasure of God's presence. This is the very creation of a Christian Hedonist.

Having summarized the content of the chapter, I will attempt to analyze it next time.

A reader posed the question this morning of what it means to be a Reformed Christian. His (or her) question made me realize that though I am Reformed in theology and have been for many years, I do not have a definition of Reformed to answer the question. So I thought today I would post a definition of what it means to be Reformed.

First, it is important to note that because the Reformed tradition arose from the Protestant Reformation, the term “Reformed” is usually defined in comparison to something else. By affirming Reformed theology you are implicitly denying other theologies, such as Catholic theology (which Reformed theology rose in opposition to) and Arminian theology (which later rose in opposition to Reformed theology). I doubt any sentence in the history of the English language has used the word “theology” as much as my previous sentence. My English professors must be shedding a tear on my behalf.

I recently read an article (which alas I can no longer find) that described a search the BBC made for the Loch Ness Monster. They swept Loch Ness from end to end, back and forth for several days using some of the world's most sophisticated sonar equipment. After a complete, thorough search they concluded that there is simply not a monster living in the Loch. To provide an idea of how the myth of the Loch Ness Monster continues to grow despite the evidence that it does not exist they performed a little experiment. They rigged up a system so that they could raise an object from under the water far out into the Loch. They would then speak to the tourists standing by the shore to ask them what they had seen. They elected to use a section of fencing as the decoy object, purposely choosing something that looks absolutely nothing like Nessie. They waited for bus full of tourists to pull up and once the bus was unloaded they raised the fence a few feet out of the water. There was great excitement on the shore and sure enough, when they interviewed people after the fact, the majority of them described seeing something that looked just like the Loch Ness Monster.

The people who led this study concluded that this was a type of Pareidolia. Pareidolia is "a type of illusion or misperception involving a vague or obscure stimulus being perceived as something clear and distinct." (Skeptics Dictionary) Other examples of this are seeing Mother Teresa in a cinnamon bun or seeing the face of a man on the moon. In the case of the people gathered at Loch Ness, they saw something vague and yet were able to describe it in detail. The detail was fabricated by their minds based on what they already imagined the Loch Ness Monster to look like.

Certainly the people who saw a section of fence being raised from the water did not expect to see a fence - they expected to see a monster. Many of them had traveled from other countries for the express purpose of visiting Loch Ness to see if this monster existed. So when the object came up from the water their minds allowed them to see what they wanted to see. Had they been expecting to see a Volkswagen Bug emerging from the water I have little doubt that their minds would have allowed them to believe that is what rose from the depths.

What we see in this rather extreme example is the value of objectivity. Had the people visiting Loch Ness been objective they would have seen nothing but a section of wet fencing material. They would have seen the reality in all its simplicity.

How often do we approach the Bible with the wrong attitude? How often do we approach it with our own agendas in mind? Homosexuals approach the Bible determined to find proof that their lifestyle is not only acceptable but condoned by Scripture. So when they read that John was the apostle that Jesus loved, they see support for their lifestyle. When they read about the love between Jonathan and David they see them as homosexual and allow it give license to their own immorality. Often people on both sides of various debates misuse Scripture in this way. Take, for example, the issue of women in positions of leadership in the church. Proponents of both sides will eschew objectivity, approaching the Scriptures determined to prove their point. When we approach the Bible determined to prove what we already believe we will more often than not find our proof, even if we are wrong in doctrine.

We need to approach the Bible objectively, asking God to reveal His truth to us through His Word. We need to lay aside our presuppositions and biases so, if necessary, we can allow God to change and mold us. We need to allow the Bible to show us what a given passage really means, not necessarily what it means about the debate we want it to prove.

John Calvin once warned against treating the Bible like a ball that we bounce around at will. It is the Word of God and its teachings can be rightly learned only by the most impartial and objective study of the text. And that means being impartial and objective even about the parts we may not like, for often God's ways are at odds with our human preferences.

This is the second article in my series examining John Piper's book Desiring God. The first article was co-written by myself and Doug from Coffeeswirls and can be found here. Today I am examining the first chapter of this book which is entitled The Happiness of God: Foundation for Christian Hedonism. You will recall that Christian Hedonism is the term Piper has given to his teaching that Christians are to desire pleasure above all else. The pleasure they are to seek is the pleasure that can be found in God. So today we will see that the happiness of God is the foundation upon which Christian Hedonism is built.

God is uppermost in His own affections. This is the truth that Christian Hedonism is founded upon. It would not be a stretch to adapt the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism to read "the chief end of God is to glorify God and enjoy Himself forever." God's ultimate purpose is the same as ours' - to glorify God! If God were to do anything else, He would commit idolatry for it would mean that He values something else more highly than Himself.

The first chapter of Desiring God provides the foundation for Christian Hedonism and this foundation is the happiness of God. If God is sovereign, He is able to do anything He pleases and His plans are impossible to frustrate. Even the evil that occurs in this world is part of God's plan and happens only with God's permission. If all of His plans succeed exactly the way He intended them to, He must be the happiest of all beings. Because God is always completely happy, we are able to drink from this fountain of God's contentment.

How is it possible that God can see all of the sin and evil in this world and remain happy? Piper explains this using a metaphor he learned from Jonathan Edwards. He explains that God has the ability to see the world through two different lenses. Through a narrow lens He sees the acts of men and is angered and saddened by sin and pain. However, he can also see events through the wide lens which shows the events in relation to their eternal purposes. Through this view he is able to delight in his own sovereignty. A mosaic may appear ugly when one can see only a few of the pieces, but when seen through the wide angle it comes into perspective and displays its beauty. So it is with God's plans. Seen in isolation they may be confusing and even appear ugly, but when seen from the proper perspective they show His wisdom and sovereignty.

Perhaps the greatest example of this is in the crucifixion of Jesus. The Bible tells us several times that it was God's plan that Jesus be murdered and suffer God's wrath on the cross. Acts 4:27-28 describes the prayer of the earliest Christians: "For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done." The characters involved in that act of terrible injustice were simply playing a part in the drama that God had foreordained must take place. While God committed no sin, He did decree that sin take place in order to further His plans.

God, then, delights in Himself and in His own glory. In all He does He seeks to further display His magnificence. Since His plans never fail, everything He does succeeds in bringing glory to Himself which in turn brings Him pleasure. God created humans so they could bring Him glory. "All of God's works culminate in the praise of His redeemed people. The climax of God's happiness is the delight He takes in the echoes of His excellence in the praise of His saints." (page 50) So God's greatest joy is in hearing His chosen people praise Him. At the same time, praise is our expression of the fullness of joy we find in Him. So when God pursues praise from us and we pursue pleasure in Him, we are, in reality, pursuing the same thing.

I hesitate to draw too much application from what I have learned so far, for I am sure that in the next 10 chapters Piper will explain more fully and help me to draw application from Scripture. I am intrigued by the logic he uses to reach the conclusion that God's pursuit of praise from me and my pursuit of pleasure from Him are one in the same. It is awesome to think that God's greatest delight is in my praise. How I wish I could say with all honesty that my greatest pleasure is in doing just that. Though I do love to praise God, I cannot say that it is always my greatest pleasure. I strive to love praising God and look forward to the time when I will stand before God's throne and find my joy and purpose in praising Him perfectly for all of eternity!

In the past several days I have come across a particular passage of Scripture several times. Each time I see it, it grabs my heart. The passage is Hosea verses 1b - 6 which reads:

There is no truth or mercy
Or knowledge of God in the land.
By swearing and lying,
Killing and stealing and committing adultery,
They break all restraint,
With bloodshed upon bloodshed.
Therefore the land will mourn;
And everyone who dwells there will waste away
With the beasts of the field
And the birds of the air;
Even the fish of the sea will be taken away.

“Now let no man contend, or rebuke another;
For your people are like those who contend with the priest.
Therefore you shall stumble in the day;
The prophet also shall stumble with you in the night;
And I will destroy your mother.
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

The words that most grab my attention are in the final verse. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Hosea, as a prophet of God, was called to expose the sin and waywardness of Israel and one of the predominant themes of his ministry was the knowledge of God and what it means to know Him. In speaking of God’s mercy he speaks these words on behalf of God: “I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know the Lord.” (2:20) When he explains why God is going to judge the people he says “They do not direct their deeds towards turning to their God, for the spirit of harlotry is in their midst and they do not know the Lord. (5:4) He calls them to repentance, saying “Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.” (6:3) Speaking for God again just a few verses later he says “I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” (6:6)

Clearly, God demands that we strive to have knowledge of Him. What, then, does knowledge of God involve? I believe knowledge has at least three aspects -intellect, will and practice.

Intellect. We cannot know God without knowing Him with our minds. Psalm 100:3 reads “Know that the Lord, He is God.” This passage echoes Deuteronomy 7:9 which says “Know that the Lord your God, He is God.” We are to know the truth of who God is. In the Old Testament the Israelites knew God to be the God of the covenant who loved His chosen nation. Today we know Him as the God of the new covenant who proved His love for us in sending His Son to ransom us. We must know not only that God is, but also know who He is and what He has done.

Will. We need to trust God. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5) We need to obey Him and there are so many passages of Scripture that speak to obeying God that I hesitate to choose just one. We need also to worship God as He has commanded, for our worship flows from a trusting and obedient heart. These are all acts of the will - I need to choose to trust Him, to obey Him and to express my love for Him in worship.

Practice. Knowledge of God will express itself in action. If I truly know who God is and what He expects of me, I will necessarily want to obey Him with my actions. Jeremiah 22:16 reads “He judged the cause of the poor and needy; Then it was well. ‘Was this not knowing Me?’ Says the Lord?” And in the New Testament, 1 John 4:8 tells us that “He who does not love does not know God.” Showing love for others is an absolute requirement of those who know God.

Do we truly know God? Are our minds filled with knowledge of God? Do we desire to know more about God as a parched land cries out for rain? Do we see our will and our lives displaying the knowledge of God?

Hosea taught the people that they were destroyed for lack of knowledge. They had turned away from God and had lost their love and respect for Scripture. His call to repentance involved telling the people that they needed to return to the basics - to simply know God. The knowledge of God has to begin in His Word, for the Bible is God’s primary revelation of Himself to us. Those who desire knowledge of Him and those who truly want to live out His purposes must be people of the Word. We must continually submit ourselves to the teaching and authority of God’s Holy Word. It is only then that we can have knowledge of God that will express itself in our will and in our practice.

So many professed Christians today display an alarming lack of knowledge when it comes to God. So many can recite the previous day’s box scores or recite their portfolio from memory, but how many truly commit themselves to acquiring a deeper, more intimate knowledge of God?

God calls us, even today, to repent and to turn our attention to His Word, where the knowledge our Lord must begin.