Desiring God - Part 2
I am currently reading Desiring God by John Piper.
Piper begins his book with that great statement from the Westminster Catechism: “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” He explains that the “and” is not two different chief ends but one in the same. He even suggests revising the statement to read, “The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.”
Piper tells us that he began his Christian life thinking that he basically had to be miserable to be serving God correctly. Piper goes on to explain why it is not wrong for us to want to be happy, BUT we must direct that happiness in the proper ways. Piper has learned in his life that if we truly praise and worship God for being God, we will fulfill the deepest longings of our hearts and experience true happiness and joy. Interesting concept.
Piper states that joy is not a mere option alongside worship but is an essential component of worship.
Piper does a good job of making sure that he is not misunderstood in what he is communicating. He anticipates wrong thoughts and motives to what he is trying to say and combats those.