Good and Happy
I want to be happy. I also want my wife and children to be happy. In that sense I'm like every other father out there. Except maybe for one.
God is a Father, and He seems far more interested in us being good. Like His Son.
This view flies in the face of contemporary preaching in a movement dubbed "the Prosperity Gospel" that centers itself on the conviction that God is chiefly concerned with our happiness. He doesn't want us to be sick, or poor, or touched by any of life's troubles. He wants us to be healthy, well-off, happy King's kids.
All we need are the right tools. We need to have our minds changed about God, and we need to learn how to properly use "faith". In this view, faith become s a lever that activates God. He responds like an indulgent father by giving us whatever we ask for, and we become semi-autonomous initiators of God's blessings. We can "name it and claim it" in an ever self-indulgent pursuit of happiness.
If this were only an errant view outside of mainstream Evangelicalism, it would merely be a curiosity. But it is a deeply influential movement that infects the Western Church to varying degrees.
God, our Father, on the other hand, invites us to a relationship where our captive hearts respond to him with increasing likeness to His Son. If we love Him, we obey His commandments and the ones who obey Him are the ones who love Him. Love is the only spiritual barometer. Those who love much take on a burnish that reflects the image of the incarnate God, Jesus Christ. Any true similarity, holiness if you will, is always an outgrowth of loving devotion to Christ. (John 14)
In another sharp contrast to the "Name It and Claim It" Gospel, Paul writes about suffering and it's consequences in Romans chapter 5. He seems to be appealing to his reader's gumption. He's encouraging them to "stick to it" when things get rough. He assumes the readers will "glory in their suffering", knowing that when they persevere, they will see character develop (in other words, goodness), and also character's fruit, which is hope. At first glance it seems like he's rooting the formation of goodness in the believer's willful response to difficult circumstance. BTW: Paul's not talking about losing one's home to the bank, he's referring to losing one's life and livelihood to persecution.
Many people stop with this consideration of the passage, thinking that goodness is formed in us by our response to suffering, but Paul does not leave us there. Having introduced hope as the ultimate fruit of suffering, he tells us that hope will not disappoint because God has poured His love out into our hearts by His Holy Spirit, who is given to us. Paul sees our response to suffering as relational. The perseverance, character, and hope he writes about all find their source in the direct disclosure of God's lovingkindness to us by the Holy Spirit. Paul contrasts God—who makes us good by giving of Himself and His love—with suffering. Our response is rooted in our relationship.
Any Christian lives a winsome, hope-filled life in Christ because of a heart captivated by God's consuming love. Any and all circumstances pale in comparison, even those which we might think of as leading to happiness. The source of goodness in life (and ultimately happiness) is God Himself. He alone is enough, though we lack everything else.
When we love God and are assured of His love for us, we increasingly live and love like Jesus. We begin to look more and more like our Savior, who is wholly good.
God is a Father, and He seems far more interested in us being good. Like His Son.
This view flies in the face of contemporary preaching in a movement dubbed "the Prosperity Gospel" that centers itself on the conviction that God is chiefly concerned with our happiness. He doesn't want us to be sick, or poor, or touched by any of life's troubles. He wants us to be healthy, well-off, happy King's kids.
All we need are the right tools. We need to have our minds changed about God, and we need to learn how to properly use "faith". In this view, faith become s a lever that activates God. He responds like an indulgent father by giving us whatever we ask for, and we become semi-autonomous initiators of God's blessings. We can "name it and claim it" in an ever self-indulgent pursuit of happiness.
If this were only an errant view outside of mainstream Evangelicalism, it would merely be a curiosity. But it is a deeply influential movement that infects the Western Church to varying degrees.
God, our Father, on the other hand, invites us to a relationship where our captive hearts respond to him with increasing likeness to His Son. If we love Him, we obey His commandments and the ones who obey Him are the ones who love Him. Love is the only spiritual barometer. Those who love much take on a burnish that reflects the image of the incarnate God, Jesus Christ. Any true similarity, holiness if you will, is always an outgrowth of loving devotion to Christ. (John 14)
In another sharp contrast to the "Name It and Claim It" Gospel, Paul writes about suffering and it's consequences in Romans chapter 5. He seems to be appealing to his reader's gumption. He's encouraging them to "stick to it" when things get rough. He assumes the readers will "glory in their suffering", knowing that when they persevere, they will see character develop (in other words, goodness), and also character's fruit, which is hope. At first glance it seems like he's rooting the formation of goodness in the believer's willful response to difficult circumstance. BTW: Paul's not talking about losing one's home to the bank, he's referring to losing one's life and livelihood to persecution.
Many people stop with this consideration of the passage, thinking that goodness is formed in us by our response to suffering, but Paul does not leave us there. Having introduced hope as the ultimate fruit of suffering, he tells us that hope will not disappoint because God has poured His love out into our hearts by His Holy Spirit, who is given to us. Paul sees our response to suffering as relational. The perseverance, character, and hope he writes about all find their source in the direct disclosure of God's lovingkindness to us by the Holy Spirit. Paul contrasts God—who makes us good by giving of Himself and His love—with suffering. Our response is rooted in our relationship.
Any Christian lives a winsome, hope-filled life in Christ because of a heart captivated by God's consuming love. Any and all circumstances pale in comparison, even those which we might think of as leading to happiness. The source of goodness in life (and ultimately happiness) is God Himself. He alone is enough, though we lack everything else.
When we love God and are assured of His love for us, we increasingly live and love like Jesus. We begin to look more and more like our Savior, who is wholly good.
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