A pathway to everlasting Joy
In Desiring God, John Piper presents the fundamentals of his theology, that he also refers to as Christian hedonism. In contrast to some Christian voices that seem to damn the desire to seek happiness, he does not only acknowledge the fundamental human desire for happiness, but argues that our desire is not too strong, but too weak as we are settling for temporary joy whilst there is everlasting, infinite joy set in front of us.
Seek for happiness, but don’t think to small, the joy in God is greater than every other!
Here is what I have learned.
Table of contents
Open Table of contents
All men seek happiness
“All men seek happiness” (Blaise Pascal) - our desire for happiness, as it is given in our human nature, is the universal motive for every action. Therefore, whatever brings us happiness will automatically, subconsciously influence our decisions and behavior.
It is therefore a mistake if we tell people not to seek their own pleasures as if happiness would be bad, instead we must point them to the one source of true and lasting joy.
In His presence there is fullness of joy, at His right hand there are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 16,11
An architecture of joy
God is most glorified in us when we are the most satisfied in Him.
John Piper argues that Gods purpose is to preserve and display His glory. And although this might seems egoistic at first, he argues that seeking is own praise is the ultimate loving act. Real praise originates only from authentic enjoyment, only if we delight in God, God is praised. Therefore God must be for himself, to truly be for us.
For God, praise is the sweet echo of his own excellence in the hearts of his people. For us, praise is the summit of satisfaction that comes from living in fellowship with God.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing
Romans 15,13
We cannot serve God
As if all the world and all it contains were not already Gods
`Psalm 50,12
Oftentimes we seem to believe that God is in need of our service, but the truth is God does not need anything from us.
The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
Acts 17,24-25
John Piper concludes: We glorify God not by serving Him, but by being served by Him.
One way how we can glorify God is through prayer:
Prayer is the open admission that without Christ we can do nothing. And prayer is the turning away from ourselves to God in the confidence that He will provide the help we need. Prayer humbles us as needy and exalts God as wealthy.
Even though we are served by God, God himself is glorified.
Another important aspect to remember is, that whatever we do, or believe to be doing for God, we do joyfully:
God loves a cheerful giver
2. Corinthians 9,7
The horizontal relationship - Love is the overflow of Joy in God
“Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin” (Romans 14,23) -> There must be a connection between the vertical relationship with God and the horizontal relationship with people. But how is the joy in God connected to our relationship with others?
In a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity
2. Corinthians 8,2
It is joy that leads to a wealth of generosity, even in the shadow of extreme poverty. John Piper defines, true, genuine love as follows:
Love is the overflow of joy in God that gladly meets the needs of others
There is more blessedness, more joy, more lasting pleasure in a life devoted to helping others than there is in a life devoted to our material comfort
Within human relationships shared joy is what connects us with each other - John Piper states that it is the underlying component of every friendship and relationship:
Love abounds between us, when your joy is mine and my joy is yours
The greatest joy however, that we should strive for, is expressed in 3.John 1,4:
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking within the truth
It is essential that the driving force in serving people unconditionally is joy in God, otherwise we will always be asking something of them. Before we go to work, we should prioritise the pursuit of joy in God.
First thing I attend is to have my soul happy within the Lord
Georg Müller
Joy to overcome Pain
Joy is not only a driving force of our actions and decisions, but also a force that can carry us through times of darkness. What sustained Christ on the cross, who experienced the greatest darkness, was the hope of joy beyond the cross:
For the joy that was set before Him, Christ endured the cross despising the shame
Hebrews 12,2
His joy was defined by the hope of leading many sons to glory (Hebrews 2,10). The following famous and frequently recited quote by Nietzsche, states, that as long as we have a reason to endure the pain, we can bear almost anything:
He who has a why to live can bear almost any how
Friedrich Nietzsche
John Piper claims that: “When hope abounds, the heart is filled with joy” and therefore, as long as we have hope, we are able to endure difficult times. The most powerful source of hope are the encouragements of the Scriptures (Romans 15,4) and prayer:
Ask and you will receive that your joy may be full
John 16,24
In dark times, when every reason for hope in our earthly life seems to be fading, the following quote from Martin Luther may remind us that neither goods, nor relatives, nor our mortal life are worth anything compared to the glory that lies ahead:
Let goods and kindred go,
this mortal life also,
the body may the kill,
God’s truth obideth still,
His kingdom is forever
There is joy that extends beyond our earthly life.
To live is Christ and to die is gain
“Philippians 1,21`
Joy that extends beyond life
As Paul himself says - If the resurrection is not true, we might as well enjoy ordinary pleasures:
If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!
1. Corinthians 15,32
But Paul writes these words with the great conviction that the resurrection is true, which is expressed in his decisions to choose suffering that would have been foolish without Christ. In suffering he learned to rely on God who raises the dead (2. Corinthians 1,8-9).
Because we believe in an almighty God, we ought to remain hopeful and ambitious, even when circumstances seem unpromising. Every impossibility is possible with God (Mark 10,27).
Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God
William Cray
And even if all our love and effort remains unreciprocated on earth, we can go on by knowing that we will be repaid at the resurrection of the just (Luke 14,14).
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot loose
Jim Elliot