The Means or the End?

The Gift or the Giver

All cards on the table. Sometimes I just want Jesus for what He can do for me. Can you blame me? He can do a LOT!

I admit it. Too often I want the healing more than the Healer. I want the teaching more than the Teacher. I want the saving more than the Savior. I want the gift more than the Giver.

The Hero of the Story

Here’s the deal. Jesus doesn’t just provide the means to the end. He is THE End! Hmm, maybe that’s why He tells John, “I am the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (Rev 22:13).

In other words, Jesus is THE POINT! He’s the Reason. He’s the Hero of THE entire story.

A Near Riot Near the Lake

That sure seems to be one of the big ideas behind Mark’s report of Christ’s crazy day at the lake (Mk 3:7-12). A desperate mob hunts Him down when they get wind of His many miracles.

There’s a near riot of people suffering with all sorts of longterm health issues. If that’s not wild enough, several different demons try to blow His cover before it was time.

These folks don’t appear to have any desire for what we like to call a “personal relationship with Jesus.” They just want what He can do for them. Nothing more. Nothing less. They want the means without the end.

Wanna Get Away?

Mark picks up the story along the shores of the large freshwater lake known as the Sea of Galilee. “Jesus went out to the lake with His disciples, a large crowd followed Him” (v7).

If you’ve been following along in John Mark’s bio of Jesus, you may remember what just went down. After being showed up by Jesus for the fifth straight time, local religious leaders got together to plot His murder (Mk 3:6).

It’s kinda like one of those Southwest Airlines commercials. “Wanna get away?” That’s exactly what the Son of God and His guys did. Just like so many of us like to do, they went to the lake to get out of the spotlight and get some rest.

A Healthy Gathering

But as you’ve already noticed, that didn’t last long. A big crowd is just over their shoulder. So much for a quiet day at the lake.

Just how big is this crowd and who’s in it? The original language gives us a few hints. First of all, we see that it’s “large” (πολυς/polus). This word describes a relatively large quantity or measure of something.

It can mean much, many, numerous, great, plentiful, loud, deep, or even long. “Large” points to the upper range of anything, big but not the biggest. Let’s just say this is a healthy gathering chasing Jesus down the beach.

Local Celebrity No Longer

And where are they from? “They came from all over, Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, from east of the Jordan River, and even from as far north as Tyre and Sidon” (v8). Well that escalated quickly. No longer is the Rabbi/Carpenter a local celebrity. His appeal has spread throughout the entire region.

Christ is clearly a hot ticket among the Hebrews. You see that by all the folks from various regions of Israel, such as Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem.

He’s also getting traction among people living in lands of both Jews and Gentiles, like Idumea and the eastern side of the Jordan River.

The Twin Cities

For the first time we see a boatload of non-Jews coming to Jesus. Tyre and Sidon are the Minneapolis and St. Paul of Phoenicia. These Twin Cities are in what we know today as Lebanon.

They’re appearance in Galilee is a shocker since First Century Phoenicians aren’t worshipers of Yahweh.

It’s Jesusmania!

As if we didn’t already know, Mark gives us the reason for big crowd along the lake. “The news about His miracles spread far and wide, and vast numbers of people came to see Him” (v8). The amazing stories of Jesus’ healings and exorcisms are in all the papers. He’s trending on Twitter.

This thing is getting big and it’s getting big FAST! He’s no longer just a local sensation in Capernaum. Forget Beatlemania. It’s got nothing on the craze over the Christ. Yup, you got it. This is Jesusmania!

Taking No Chances

Our Savior won’t get caught by surprise. He preps with His posse in case things get out of control. “Jesus instructed His disciples to have a boat ready so that the crowd would not crush Him” (v9).

He instructs His boys to have a boat nearby. You never know when an excited audience might take the ugly turn into deadly riot. Jesus may be God but, remember, He’s in human form. No reason to take unnecessary chances.

Miracle Medicine

It’s obvious from the get-go that this was not just a good idea but a lifesaver. “He had healed many people that day, so all the sick people eagerly pushed forward to touch Him” (v10). Word of Jesus’ ability to provide miraculous medical treatment is spreading like wildfire.

Think of how people go to Mexico or Europe when they read on the internet that some doctor has a unlocked the cure for cancer. They don’t care about the physician’s credentials. They simply want to get well and will do anything or go anywhere for healing. In 30 AD, that just happens to be Galilee.

An Act of Desperation

The excitement level of the big crowd explodes. Suddenly the sick “eagerly pushed forward” toward the Great Physician. Mark uses a Greek word here that describes their desperation. Επιπιπτω/epipipto describes falling or descending upon someone.

This is a compound word that means “land (Gr. -πιπτω/-pipto) on (Gr. επι-/epi-).” Picture somebody throwing themselves on another suddenly. It’s when you shift your weight so that somebody else is supporting you completely. It’s an act not just of excitement but desperation.

In a good way, this is an embrace. Like when John leans his head against Jesus at dinner (Jn 13:25). Or how about the time a dad is so excited to see his runaway son return from the pig sty (Lk 15:20).

By Any Means Necessary

In negative sense, it’s an attack. Like today at the lake. Suddenly there’s lots of pushing and shoving. This is about getting near the front by any means necessary. The irony is they came for healing and now are in danger of getting hurt.

They don’t want Jesus. They don’t want to talk to Him. They just want to get their hands on Him. They don’t care about who He is. They only want what He can do for them.

Got the T-Shirt

The words are hard to type because it’s so personal. Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt. Given the t-shirt to Goodwill. I’ve done over and over and over. Sad to say, you can pretty much bet the ranch that I’ll do it again.

It usually happens when life goes off the rails somehow. Big trouble at work. A “heated discussion” at home. A breakdown on the interstate. A dicy diagnosis from my doctor. Jesus is near the top of my 9-1-1 calls. My divine phone-a-friend anytime I’m in a pickle.

It goes a little something like this. Money problems. Run to Jesus. Marriage problems. Run to Jesus. Job problems. Run to Jesus. Health problems. Run to Jesus. I think you get the idea.

His Greatest Gift is Himself

Dr. Luke paints the picture of two sisters who have different views of Jesus. Martha sees the Lord as the One to give her what she wants. In this case, it’s help from her sister. Meanwhile Mary simply wants her Savior.

Christ personally corrects Martha by saying her sister has figured it out. “There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her” (Lk 10:42).

Mary realizes He’s not just the means to the end, He is THE END! He’s the Point. He’s the Reason. As Max Lucado likes to say, “God’s present is His presence. His greatest gift is Himself.”

Top of the To-Do List

God says so all throughout His Word to us. Check out these lyrics from the Psalms. “Whom have I in heaven but You? I desire You more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever” (Ps 73:25-26).

In His most famous sermon, Jesus told us to put one thing and one thing only at the top of our to-do list each day. “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything that you need” (Mt 6:33).

God Loved, God Gave

I need to make it my mission to seek Him, look for Him, pursue Him. Jesus compares our search for the goodness of God to the ultimate treasure hunt. He tells the story of one guy who cashed in all his chips in order to his hands on nothing but God (Mt 13:44-46).

Specifically, that Gift is none other than the Son of God Himself. Jesus tells a dude named Nick one night that He’s THE Gift. “For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16).

If you’ve grown up in or around church, you’ve heard that verse so many times that it loses its power. Pump your brakes and look at this amazing truth one more time. God loved. God gave. Jesus is the Gift.

More of Himself

God Himself gives Himself as the greatest blessing. Even the guy who wrote most of the New Testament is lost for words when it comes to the idea. “Thanks be to God for His indescribable Gift!” (2Cor 9:15).

So just like those desperate folks in Galilee, I need to remember that Jesus isn’t the means to the end. He is THE End. As Vaneetha Rendall Risner puts it, “The best gift God can give you is not health or prosperity or happiness in this world, but more of Himself.”

Coming out of the Woodwork

But there are more than just people with serious health problems there along the lake with the Lord. Mark tells us there’s a significant number of folks under demonic control there too. All through the Gospels, demons come out of the woodwork whenever Jesus is around.

“And whenever those possessed by evil spirits caught sight of Him, the spirits would throw them to the ground in front of Him shrieking, ‘You are the Son of God!’” (v11).

It’s a Throwdown Showdown

What a wild scene! The crowd crushes closer to get the hands on the Christ. Now demonically possessed people are raising a ruckus by flinging their victims at the feet of Jesus.

In John Mark’s play-by-play, he writes that these evils spirits “throw” (Gr. προσπιπτω/prospipto)” their hosts down. He uses a verb with same root word (Gr. προσπιπτω/prospipto) as when the sick people “eagerly pushed forward” to get to Jesus.

In this form, it means to fall forward in front of or even prostrate oneself in submission before another. These agents of Satan totally freak out when God is in town. Call it a throwdown showdown.

Unholy Screams

I’ll bet their unholy screams would send shivers down your spine. I love how the NLT translates the original language here as “shrieking” (Gr. κραζω/krazo). It not only means to cry out or shout with great intensity and volume but implies an unpleasant nature of the sound. Think fingernails on a chalkboard turned up to eleven.

Shrieking demons have a bad habit of revealing His supernatural identity (Mk 1:23, 26; Mk 5:7). Interestingly, the Lord tells them to stuff a sock in it. “But Jesus sternly commanded the spirits not to reveal who He was” (v12).

Seeing Him for Who He Is

Unlike the many people who saw Him as the means to the end, the evil spirits see Jesus for who He really is. The Son of God. Since they’re spirits, they see the spiritual world. They know full well He’s the means to their end!

So why did Jesus want them to shut up? Wasn’t He trying to get the word out? Theologians and Bible scholars have cussed and discussed this question for the past 2,000 years.

Staying on Schedule

I’m certainly not smart enough to figure it out but I think my old prof Doug Bookman is on to something. He says Christ only had three-and-a-half years to accomplish His mission before His crucifixion. In order to stay on schedule, He had to manipulate the political and religious powers.

In other words, Jesus is doing just what He tells the Twelve to do before sending them on assignment. “Be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves” (Mt 10:16). Don’t be naive. Know there are enemies. Understand the big picture.

A Grip on the News Cycle

In this case, it’s keeping viselike grip on the news cycle and release of information regarding His mission. Christ couldn’t let the power brokers know His true identity too soon or it would be all over.

The word would get out fast enough when the time is right. In the meantime, who He is and what He’s doing is under a news embargo. Jesus certainly is not going to let the Prince of Lies put his evil spin on the Good News.

You may wonder if the Lord still has His embargo in place. Absolutely not! He makes it clear that we’re to tell everybody we meet about Him (Mt 28:19-20; Mk 16:15; Lk 24:47-48; Acts 1:8)! Make Jesus famous everywhere you go! There are no restrictions on that!!

His Eternal Benefits Package

The best way to give Him glory is by finding our ultimate pleasure in Him. There’s not doubt our Savior does amazing and miraculous things. But that’s just part of His amazing eternal benefits package.

In Him alone, there’s contentment. In Him alone, there’s fulfillment. John Piper famously says, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” In other words, Jesus isn’t the means. He’s THE End.

©2017

Jay Jennings

It's ALL Good!

“For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer” (1Tim 4:4-5).

Somewhere along the line we fell for a lie. We bought into the goofy idea that God is holding out on us. For years, I pictured Him as some supernatural Ebenezer Scrooge. Knowing Jesus meant no fun. I thought accepting the Good News was goodbye to the good stuff. 

But nothing could be any further from the truth about the Truth. God is the ultimate Giver. It’s at the core of who He is. He gives so we can enjoy. John Piper likes to say, “He is most glorified in us when we are the most satisfied in Him.” He gave us Creation to enjoy. He gives us His Son so that we may have overflowing and abundant life to enjoy. God is the Great Giver. It’s ALL good!

There are folks who try to perpetuate the lie of a stingy God. They try to tell us that the only way to true holiness is through denial and rejection of anything that brings us pleasure. It’s the doctrine of “if it feels good, DON’T do it!” It’s self-salvation by subtraction. Self-righteousness by rejection. They dupe us into thinking the way to please God is by grabbing a monk’s robe and taking a vow of poverty. I hate to think “Celibate Good Times” is the number one tune down at the local monastery. 

Religious con artists have been selling this scam for centuries. False teachers had distracted the followers of Jesus to avoid not only marriage and the all-you-can-eat buffet (1Tim 4:1-3). Don’t touch this. Don’t eat that. Don’t even think about enjoying anything. Self-salvation by subtraction. Self-righteousness by rejection. 

Paul says that may sound super duper spiritual but it couldn’t be any further from what the Great Giver has for us. “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer” (v4-5). He’s no Almighty Miser. God is the Great Giver! He gives so we can enjoy. It’s ALL good!

The apostle makes his point to Pastor Timothy by going back to the beginning. Not the beginning of the letter. Not the beginning of the year. I mean THE Beginning. Creation. “For everything created by God is good” (v4). Paul flips back to the opening pages of Scripture when our Creator gets busy crafting the universe. Grab a front row seat for the first moments of history. Each time our great big God speaks, great big stuff happens (Gen 1). Light. Night. Day. Oceans. Land. Outer Space. Plants. The Sun. The Moon. Animals. Our first parents. It’s all good!

I mean, it’s ALL good. Every. Single. Thing. If God made it, it comes with a supernatural stamp of approval. Moses makes the point six times in Genesis (Gen 1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). Paul drives it home once again to Tim. “For everything created by God is good” (v4). In case you’re wondering just how much of God’s handiwork he’s talking about, the apostle says “everything.” This is the Greek word pas. When you do an exhaustive word study using all the lexicons and dictionaries, you find out it means “everything.” The whole enchilada. It’s ALL good!

The ESV uses “created” to translate the original Greek ktisma. It describes the result of God’s creative activity, any creature or part of creation. The term emphasizes forming and shaping out of nothing. God started from scratch…except WITHOUT the scratch! He generously created the entire universe from total nothingness. Smart folks who know Latin call it ex nihilo. That simply means “out of nothing.” Creation didn’t come with a starter kit. The recipe is simple. God+Nothing=Everything. And it’s ALL good!

Paul’s words here in verse 4 echo the scene at end of God’s first work week. On Friday afternoon, our Creator kicked back to take it all in. “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day” (Gen 1:31). Forget an endorsement from Consumer Reports. Don’t worry about a five-star review on Yelp. God gives creation His divine stamp of approval. Take His word for it. When he creates everything. It’s ALL good!

So where did we get the wonky idea that God is stingy and that a lot of stuff is taboo? Once again, let’s go back to Eden and check in on our first parents. Let me refresh your memory. Our Creator had given them the entire garden to enjoy with the exception of the fruit of one single tree (Gen 2:16). God graciously rolled out the red carpet for them to the greatest all-inclusive resort the universe has ever seen. And do I need to remind you about the part where their naked (Gen 2:25)? Yeah, it’s ALL good!

That’s when satanic snake conned Adam and Eve into thinking God was holding out on them (Gen 3:1-5). Just a quick observation here. If you happen to run across a talking snake, run away and run away quickly. But they didn’t. They listened. They rebelled. They ate (Gen 3:6-7). In the process, they fractured humanity’s relationship with God and invited sin into His perfect creation. The result was a broken world. And we’re the ones who broke it. “Everything created by God is good” (v4). Whatever is bad about the universe is our fault. 

Flipping back to 1 Timothy, Paul tells Tim that “nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving” (v4). If God made it, it’s good. There’s no list of banned foods or activities. Sure, there was that time Yahweh gave Moses dietary restrictions for His chosen people (Lev 11). But that all changed the day God dropped a giant picnic blanket down in front of Peter filled with all sorts of kosher AND non-kosher goodies (Acts 10:11). Not once, but three times. The disciple Jesus called Rocky told our gracious God thanks but no thanks (Acts 10:14). The heavenly voice made it clear to Pete, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean” (Acts 10:15 NIV). In other words, bacon is back on the menu.

Whatever God makes, we’re shouldn’t reject but receive and ENJOY! We’re to be grateful to the Great Giver. Paul instructs us to do so “with thanksgiving” (v4). This is the Greek noun eucharistia, which means gratitude, appreciation, and recognition of the gift. It’s where Roman Catholics get their term Eucharist for the Lord’s Supper. The word literally means “good (eu-) grace (-charistia).” Good gracious is God gracious! Be grateful to the Great Giver for everything He provides. Thank Him for it all because it’s ALL good!

The apostle writes that all our Creator gives us “is made holy by the word of God and prayer” (v5). Does reading the Bible to my peanut butter sandwich and then praying over it do the trick? I’ve got a sneaking suspicion here that “the word of God” here isn’t talking about Scripture. Remember the method Yahweh used to create back in Genesis 1? “And God said” (Gen 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 29). He simply made the divine command and stuff happened. “And it was so” (Gen 1:7, 9, 11, 15, 24, 30). Everything from nothing simply through the incredible power of God’s words. He created it all holy by His very words. 

One of the most important ways that we acknowledge the goodness of His gifts to us is through “prayer” (v5). There’s no real magic in saying grace before you eat. You won’t find that command anywhere in the Bible. But it IS a wonderful opportunity to thank our Great Giver for all that He’s done. Jesus thanked His Dad for the seven fish sandwiches He used to unleash a seafood buffet for 4,000-plus people (Mt 15:16). Tell God how much you grateful you are for His generosity. Thank God. It’s ALL good!

So how do we apply Paul’s words here in a letter to a first century pastor? First of all, remember that “everything created by God is good” (v4). Don’t buy the lie that He’s holding out on us. He’s MUCH more generous than we could ever believe. Receive His good gifts. Don’t reject what He has for you. Life is to be enjoyed! 

Jesus didn’t come to give you a bland and narrow life. “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10). Life overflowing. Life without limits. Now don’t miss the point that He gives us give us restrictions and guidelines for our own benefit. The beauty of obedience to His rules for life lead to abundance. Who saw THAT coming?!? Thank our Great Giver. The bottom line in applying this truth? Life is to be enjoyed! It’s ALL good!

Making Father God Famous Forever

“To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Philippians 4:20).

The latest Hollywood blockbuster is about to premiere. The next hot project from your favorite artist is about to drop. These are times when the PR blitz really gets rolling. Folks involved do everything they can to get the word out. TV interviews. Media tours. Talk show appearances. Email blasts. Social media campaigns. For a few days or weeks, it’s everywhere. You can’t avoid it. But suddenly, it’s over and becomes yesterday’s news. The fame fizzles. 

God has a completely different kind of media campaign. According to Paul, God’s glory never stops. Near the end of his letter to the church back in Philippi, the apostle lets us know God’s push for prominence has legs. It’s long lasting. His fame goes on and on and on and on. “To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen” (v20). You can’t stop it. You can’t even hope to contain it. Why doesn’t His fame ever fade? Because He’s the only One truly worthy of the spotlight. He’s the only One who truly deserves the applause. He’s the only One truly worthy of the standing O. Giving Him glory means making God the Father famous forever. Period.

After thanking God for His overwhelming fire hose of grace (Phil 4:19), Paul can’t write another word without celebrating. He doesn’t want anyone to misunderstand the source of this lavish love. The result is this direct response to His jaw-dropping goodness. The apostle’s words here are what smart dudes in seminaries call a doxology. When I was a kid growing up in a Southern Baptist church, the doxology was the song everybody sang from memory when the ushers carried those plates full of cash back to the pastor. But it’s a whole lot more than a 20-second tune after the offering. 

Doxology literally means “glory words.” We see them all throughout Scripture (Lk 2:14; Rom 11:36; 16:27; Gal 1:4-5; 1Tim 1:17; 1Pet 4:11; Jude 25; Rev 1:6; Rev 7:12). When Paul cuts loose with these words of glory about the goodness of God, it’s nothing like the drone I heard in church as a child. He’s so excited about what Christ is doing, he can’t contain himself. This little letter his friends in Philippi is all about his joy in Jesus. According to Bengel, “The doxology flows out of the joy of the whole epistle.” The man from Tarsus may have spent the past five years behind bars, but that can’t rip the joy of Jesus from his heart. As a matter of fact, it’s this joy of the Lord that gives him the strength to endure no matter his situation (Neh 8:9; Phil 4:11-13).

So just what is this glory Paul’s so excited about? Let’s dig into the original language. “Glory” is the Greek word doxa. which means splendor, brightness, brilliance, magnificence, excellence, splendor, or grandeur. It’s what puts the doxa in our doxology! You can be sure the apostle doesn’t throw this term around willy nilly. And why would he? He’s a eyewitness of Jesus’ glory. He’ll never forget the day he was blindsided by the resurrected Rabbi/Carpenter just outside of Damascus. Christ’s appearance was so dazzling that “I could not see because of the brightness (Gr. doxa) of the light” (Acts 22:11). That’s what happens when you catch a glimpse of God’s glory. It’s like looking into a spotlight. 

We read about this supernatural shimmering just about every time God pulls back the curtain of heaven. Just ask the shepherds outside Bethlehem the night Jesus was born (Lk 2:9). How about the time Christ took His inner circle up to the mountain? Not only does Jesus suddenly start to glow, but Moses and Elijah “appeared in glory (Gr. doxa)” (Lk 9:29-32). Jesus tells His posse that the world won’t miss His spectacular return because of His glittering glory.(Mt 24:30; 25:31; Mk 8:38; 13:26; Lk 9:26; 21:27). 

But the glory of God isn’t just about what we see, it’s about what we feel. The Hebrew word in the OT for “glory” is kavod. It carries the idea of weight or heaviness. To experience the glory of God is feel the weight and importance of God. To know His glory is to be under His heaviness. Jonathan Edwards writes that God’s glory is the weight of all He is. C.S. Lewis’ book “The Weight of Glory” goes into great detail about our response to the load of God’s incredible love for us. His grace has gravitas.

Paul doesn’t want us to miss the fact that God the Father’s glory goes on “forever and ever” (v20). He uses the little Greek word aion not once but twice. It’s a time term that means era, age, or eternity. We get our English word eon (or aeon) from it. For geologists, this is the longest continual measure of time. Astronomers define one billion years as an eon. But these scientists still don’t have a clock that will last long enough to count God’s glory. The era of God’s glory is forever. And ever. And ever. And ever. His publicity blitz never ends.

The apostle ends this never-ending doxology with “amen” (v20). For the longest time, I this was simply the way to sign off our prayers. Basically the divine equivalent to “over and out” on a walkie talkie. But this incredibly underrated word has rich implications. “Amen” means truly, so be it, certainly, let it be, this is indeed true, or that’s the way it should be. Today we might say things like “You got that right!” or “Dang straight!” or “Word!” Paul wants his friends back in Philippi to know that giving Father God all the applause for all time is the way things should be. The resurrected Jesus describes Himself as the ultimate “Amen” (Rev 3:14). When you say “Jesus,” you’ve said it all. “Amen” is a first century mic drop.

So what’s the point? What does this have to do with me? Am I supposed to do something with all this? Paul wants us to know that God the Father is forever famous. The question isn’t whether we’ll make Him famous. He’s going to get His glory. The only question is how we do it. Here’s the deal. Everything single stinking in the universe shines the spotlight on His goodness. Will I make God famous through my worship of Him? Or will I make Him look awesome through my sin and disobedience? Just in case you don’t think that’s possible just take a quick look back a Calvary. Father God took the murder of His sinless Son and transformed it into the most glorious moment in the history of the universe. He’s going to get the glory. And He’s going to get it forever. Period.

Here’s where the rubber meets the road for Jesus’ followers. When we give God the glory, it’s a good thing for us. We’re blessed that whatever brings God glory also brings us the most good. R.C. Sproul says, “Because you and I are in Christ Jesus, His glory and our good are linked together. Because we are united with Christ, whatever is for His glory is also for our good. And whatever is for our good is for His glory.” According to John Piper, we’ll find the ultimate satisfaction and happiness when we’re making God famous and finding our total satisfaction in Him. “The pursuit of our interest and happiness is never above God’s, but always in God’s. The most precious truth in the Bible is that God’s greatest interest is to glorify the wealth of His grace by making sinners happy in Him—in Him!” Piper drops the bottom line. “Our interest and His glory are one.” 

So if you and want to experience the overflowing and abundant life that Jesus talks about (Jn 10:10), let’s hop on the bandwagon and give God the glory He rightly deserves. His glory=our good. His fame rolls on and on and on. It’s not some short term publicity campaign that’s gone in a few weeks. The Message really sums up this idea. “Our God and Father abounds in glory that just pours out into eternity. Yes” (v20 The Message). He’s the only One truly worthy of the spotlight. He’s the only One who truly deserves the applause. He’s the only One truly worthy of the standing O. Giving Him glory means making God the Father famous forever. Period.