Why?
Stop and think about it for a second. Why did God create us? Why did He create anything? He had to know how much trouble it would create. He was the only being for all eternity, and it was VERY unlikely that anything would appear on its own. Was he lonely? Unlikely. He could have created us as peers, with all His knowledge and wisdom, so we could relate to Him perfectly. But even such created beings would still be inferior because they would not be gods. He could have left well enough alone. He would have suffered no lack for it. He could have created other gods like Himself, perfect in every way, with no way they could sin because of their perfect holiness. He is powerful enough that He could have done that. So why then did He create something lower than Himself that could sin? He could have avoided so much trouble.
I believe the answer is in something I read some time ago in my devotions. We have been created for God’s enjoyment. He created us so that He could enjoy us. Of course, God being the all-knowing being that He is knew that His creation, created in His image, would fall into sin and that that creation, having then fallen into sin, would bring Him great pain, anger, and displeasure. Knowing this, He still created us, and created us for His pleasure and enjoyment. Does that mean that He gets enjoyment from us, even now, even though we still consistently cause Him so much pain? Or did He cease to find enjoyment in us at the Fall and will not truly
enjoy us again until we are perfected in eternity? I suspect that He enjoys us even now, even in our fallen state. Now whether He enjoys us as a race or just enjoys individuals throughout time I do not know, but He must find some pleasure in us or I fear He would have destroyed us long ago. I’m sure He will not find full and complete enjoyment in us again until eternity, when we are returned to that state in which we were originally intended to exist. But to think that I could possibly cause Him enjoyment even now, that is an ideal for which I can truly strive. And I think I can begin doing that by doing all things with His pleasure, including any job I have,
even if it’s the lowliest of jobs.
Is that from “The Purpose Driven life”? It sounds familiar. And I agree with you. Anyhoo, just browsing, found this, wanted to say hi.
I bet He enjoys it when we choose, via free will, despite our fallen world, to love Him. After all, He loves us in return. Thus the relationship, rather than religion – Christianity.
Yay!
Quick note while I can be here tonight – Good luck with the fantasy novel! Sounds awesome… seriously, like something I’d love to try someday.
I love that entry. It illustrates well the ultimate purpose of man in relation to God. A couple expounding comments/affirmations:1) As far as the question of whether He enjoys us when we are fallen, I would say this: NOT if the actions performed are of our own free will, since we can do nothing truly good and holy outside of His power, assistance, and sustenance. (sp?) Even dying for a friend, as Christ so gloriously illustrates, is not essentially good unless it is a direct outpouring of God’s immeasurable grace and goodness. So, with that premise, is it even love?2) Quote: “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” -John PiperI like this quote because it so eloquently reveals the truth of such passages as Psalm 37:4, which says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”We often take the second half of that verse and place it above the first in level of importance, but if we delight ourselves “in Him” before all things, our deepest desires and longings will become Him alone. While perhaps we desire worldly things at first, ultimately, He is the utmost of our affections and therefore an all-surpassing fulfillment of all our desires. So, with that said, we are created to enjoy Him, not in the same way as He enjoys us of course, but along the same line of thinking. We enjoy Him because He is our everything. He enjoys us because we display His magnificent, majestic, glory before all things and all peoples. This, my brother, is beautiful.