Enjoying God In A Godless Society
I had discussed with you sometime ago about what it means to
‘enjoy’ God in a previous post. If you missed that,
you may click here now
to read all about that before continuing with this piece. Because
I am going to pick it up from where we left off.
What I really want to dialogue with you today about is, how
to enjoy God in a world that is very skeptical about God. You
say, but why should I care about God, and what does he have
to do with my purpose? Well, he has got everything to do with
our purpose. Remember, man’s chief purpose is ‘to
enjoy God and to glorify him’. Nothing more, nothing less.
Life is about knowing, experiencing or enjoying God.
But the thing is, we often miss the exciting part about this
God concept. It is a call to enjoy. Someone has said that it
is all about God. Yes, in a self-centered, self-seeking world
such as ours, it is important to remind us that Faith is all
about God. That is for ever true. Yet, there is a good sense
in which it is also about us; about you. God is all sufficient
without us, happy, fulfilled and lacking nothing. But he chose
to make us so as to lavish his love and kindness on us anyway.
He did not make us just for his amusement. When it comes to
the issue of the human race, it is a serious issue with God.
It is true that we are for his pleasure. But it is in the sense
that we pleasure or delight his heart. He takes unending delight
in loving and blessing us. Of course, God can do whatever he
wills with us; he is sovereign. But he is also not a power monger.
He chose us in love, and for love. In a good sense, from his
own perspective at least, it was all about us; it was for our
sake that he chose us. ‘Long before he laid down earth's
foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus
of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long
ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ.
(What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter
into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of
his beloved Son’- Ephesians 1: 4-6.
Seen this way, the God factor does not seem so frightening
after all. Here is one who is infinitely mightier saying, ‘I
want to enter a holy union with you so I can defend you, and
enrich your life’. This, then, is the first step in enjoying
God in a godless society- to know that he is good. That is his
essential nature. His motives are not only pure, they are altogether
selfless. It is for our benefit that he beckons on us.
A powerful and very wealthy man who lived thousands of years
ago had this same revelation. His name was David. He was a smart
guy by all standards in his generation. In fact, he grew to
become the leader of one of the most influential nations on
the earth today. He had so much going for him. But he also had
God in his life, or rather, he allowed God to have him.He had
a radically different view of God than most folks do today.
This is his invitation to us:
'Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him' - Psalm 34: 8
‘Taste and see that the Lord is good.’ That sounds
to me like a healthy challenge. It’s like saying, ‘If
only you are willing to risk giving God a chance, I bet you
will love the encounter!’ It seems to me like it was an
admittance that humans, since after the Fall, tend to run away
from God, instead of to him. But here is a king who was saying,
‘I have tasted him, and all I experience is goodness.
Come join me.’ It is a kind invitation: taste and see
that the Lord is good.
How can we know his goodness unless we ‘taste’
him? How can we enjoy the wonders of his person, the blessedness
of his fullness, unless we fellowship with him? That is the
second step towards enjoying God – spending quality time
with him in fellowship. That is a very beautiful word, fellowship.
Do you know what it means? I checked the meaning at Dictionary.Com,
this is what fellowship means: ‘friendly relationship;
companionship: the fellowship of father and son.’
That is so neat; God is saying, “Be my friend. Enter
into a companionship with me.’ If that doesn’t blow
your mind with possibilities, I don’t know what will.
‘The fellowship of father and son.’ That is a fitting
illustration. The father seeks not his welfare but that of the
child, in an ideal world. He longs to share with his son, to
bless him, to impart him with all he has or has learnt. It is
a relationship that is birthed by the desire to give and bless
and make whole.
‘Taste and see that the Lord is good’ seem to guarantee
that we will find him good if only we shall ‘taste’.
This is a nature of God that is not emphasized enough in our
world. He gets blamed for any evil or mishap or pain. Meantime,
he says, ‘Come, be my friend, see how much I can be for
you.’ To be sure, fellowshipping with God may not shield
us entirely from pain, but the one who longs for our companionship
says,
“ Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.
For I am the LORD your God…
Since you were precious in My sight,
You have been honored,
And I have loved you…”
Isaiah 43: 1-4
How can we resist such a God, or be skeptic about him? It’s
time to taste and see that the Lord is good! His only invitation
is, 'Come and enter into friendly relationship with me, the
fellowship of father and son'.
If you are reading this, and thinking, 'how do I enter into
a friendly relationship with God?', may I suggest that all you
need to do now is to ask Jesus Christ to be your savior and
friend. If you have further questions about this, feel free
to contact
me and I will be glad to help.
If any of these writings bless you, feel free to post
a comment or share a testimony with us. Others may be blessed
by your testimony or comment. And feel free to contact us anytime.
Our genuine desire is to assist you in your search for meaning
and joy.
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blog for more.
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