Day 8: Planned for God's Pleasure
My Ebook Reader app on the iPhone 3GS actually has a bug that for some reason prevents it from rendering the 8th chapter of the book. So yesterday, before I went to bed I actually read the 9th chapter without knowing it.
Going back to the 8th chapter today, I'm struck by how much reading this book feels like listening to a sermon. Listening to a sermon is exactly the kind of one-way communication that makes me wish for the ability to ask questions. But perhaps most challenging with this sermon is that I feel lost because I don't start from the same point of view as Rick Warren.
One of the first questions Rick asks about bringing enjoyment to God as man's first purpose in life is, "What greater significance could you have?" I don't have a specific answer to Rick's question, but something still seems odd to me: What is the difference between living to bring enjoyment to God and living to bring enjoyment to my fellow humans?
What's interesting, really interesting, to me in this chapter is Rick's statement that God feels what we consider to be human emotions: grief, jealousy, anger, compassion, pity, sorrow, sympathy, happiness, gladness and satisfaction, to name a few. I never realized that the Christian god was capable of jealousy or anger, specifically. I don't know what this means to me yet, but I thought I'd note it here.
I like Rick's assertion that there is no such thing as "Christian" music, leaving people to be free to express their praise for a common God in a way that makes sense to them. Extrapolated, I feel this means that no matter what language, what ethnicity we are, people can find a common bond in worshiping the same God.
I wish I could ask Rick about the final story he gives about falling in love with his wife, and how what we are supposed to do si fall in love with Jesus. Usually, if a man falls in love with his wife, and then the man falls in love with another woman, we would consider something to be amiss here. So, when and in what order did Rick fall in love with his wife and with Jesus? Does that order matter? And what does it mean to fall in love with both a woman and with Jesus?
I suppose if God is the creator of all things, then I am one of his creations. And as a creation I was surely made for the creator's pleasure. I guess the point here is that a Christian is supposed to always keep that in mind and to figure out how to please God, with every action.
One thing that comes to mind is keeping my home in order. Keeping things in order would be something that I would do if Jesus were indeed living at my home. Dirty clothes should stay in the laundry hamper, and dishes should always be washed promptly and stored cleanly. I don't think my home is the cleanest by any means, so it could certainly use a little more order, especially from me.
Going back to the 8th chapter today, I'm struck by how much reading this book feels like listening to a sermon. Listening to a sermon is exactly the kind of one-way communication that makes me wish for the ability to ask questions. But perhaps most challenging with this sermon is that I feel lost because I don't start from the same point of view as Rick Warren.
One of the first questions Rick asks about bringing enjoyment to God as man's first purpose in life is, "What greater significance could you have?" I don't have a specific answer to Rick's question, but something still seems odd to me: What is the difference between living to bring enjoyment to God and living to bring enjoyment to my fellow humans?
What's interesting, really interesting, to me in this chapter is Rick's statement that God feels what we consider to be human emotions: grief, jealousy, anger, compassion, pity, sorrow, sympathy, happiness, gladness and satisfaction, to name a few. I never realized that the Christian god was capable of jealousy or anger, specifically. I don't know what this means to me yet, but I thought I'd note it here.
I like Rick's assertion that there is no such thing as "Christian" music, leaving people to be free to express their praise for a common God in a way that makes sense to them. Extrapolated, I feel this means that no matter what language, what ethnicity we are, people can find a common bond in worshiping the same God.
I wish I could ask Rick about the final story he gives about falling in love with his wife, and how what we are supposed to do si fall in love with Jesus. Usually, if a man falls in love with his wife, and then the man falls in love with another woman, we would consider something to be amiss here. So, when and in what order did Rick fall in love with his wife and with Jesus? Does that order matter? And what does it mean to fall in love with both a woman and with Jesus?
Point to Ponder: I was planned for God's pleasure.
I suppose if God is the creator of all things, then I am one of his creations. And as a creation I was surely made for the creator's pleasure. I guess the point here is that a Christian is supposed to always keep that in mind and to figure out how to please God, with every action.
Question to Consider: What common task could I start doing as if I were doing it directly for Jesus?
One thing that comes to mind is keeping my home in order. Keeping things in order would be something that I would do if Jesus were indeed living at my home. Dirty clothes should stay in the laundry hamper, and dishes should always be washed promptly and stored cleanly. I don't think my home is the cleanest by any means, so it could certainly use a little more order, especially from me.