Does God Love Us or Use Us?
A gargantuan question posed by John Piper.
Were we created to worship, to ‘glorify God’ and be used by Him to lead others to do the same? Is that the point? Is God a megalomaniac who needs us to feed his appetite for importance? Is he a God who just can’t get enough? If God is about ‘why’ and it’s all about feeding his ego, what kind of God is that? Are we His amusement? Or the object of His genuine love and affection? Let me confess, I’ve had this question. It scared me. I didn’t have an answer, so I changed the subject and went on my merry way, ‘full of faith and good works’.
Piper has an answer. He says God loves us and we most beautifully reflect that by being satisfied in Him. He points to numerous verses about the nature of God and links His nature to us because we’re created in His image (Genesis 1:27).
“A human being is a creature of God with a nature designed by God for conscious displays of God’s greatness, beauty and worth,” says Piper. God takes responsibility for creating each of us individually …
“…everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I
formed and made…. You are my witnesses (“images”),” declares the Lord, “that I
am God.” (parenthesis and underline are mine) (Isaiah 43:7 and 11)
Think about a beautiful sleeping baby. Angelic, pure, loaded up with every piece of DNA he’ll need to grow into a full-blown person. Innocent, unsullied by the world (although infected with the ‘sin’ virus passed down from his father). He’s totally dependent on the people who created him. Was that baby created to be used or loved? As he’s loved by the parents who created him, he’ll eventually start to give love back to them. When they get old, he’ll take care of them just as they take care of him now…out of love.
“In the beginning, God…” The Trinity….Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The circle of love between them perfect. “Then God….” created man and enlarged the circle of Divine love to include man, His highest and best creation. A creation so amazing because it was in God’s own image. Before sin infected the world, a man’s life would have started perfect and never been less than. With God’s forgiveness of our sin through Jesus, we’re returned to perfection in His eyes. Returned to the circle of love, ‘graced’ by the Presence of Almighty God, the memory of Jesus’ life and words, and connected to them through the Holy Spirit.
I’m convinced it’s all about God loving us. To ‘use’ something, you must have a need. God needs nothing.
Because we are not God…and because we have all kind of needs, maybe the tougher, more revealing question is “Do we try to ‘use’ God? Or love Him?”
Question: Will you grow a heart of gratitude in response to God’s overwhelming love? Tell us here.
Breathe New Life Into Your Discipleship
Small group mentoring can help you engage your people, build your core group of leaders, and transform your church. Our free resources equip you with all the tools you need to launch a sustainable mentoring program.
Responses (1)
God’s love for me?!?!
I will be a young 70 in one month :). I have been retired for 5 years, giving me much more time to study and reflect. I grew up in a wonderful church who taught me of God’s love, however, somehow they also taught so many things which must or must not be done to really please him. I have lived in the shadow of this legalism all my life. At this point of my life it is becoming all about Jesus, from first to last and his love for me. Everything else is just an effect of his love i.e. my love for him, my love for others……