Questions are really terrific. Jason Isbell once described them as “directions to the Truth”. It’s no surprise, therefore, that our understanding of theology is helped along by the ever-useful Catechism. Catechisms use the form of questions (and subsequent answers) to teach theological doctrines.
Perhaps the most well-known of catechism questions comes from the Westminster Shorter Catechism, published in 1649. It cuts straight to the heart of humanity’s quest for significance and meaning. It ponders: “What is the chief end of man?” The answer it provides is simple: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”
There is undoubtedly a connection between our glorification and our enjoyment of God. John Piper goes as far as to declare that “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” In other words, we glorify God when we enjoy him.
Thinking in this vein has made me reexamine what it means to live a life “pleasing to God”. What is God pleased with? What things should I do (or not do) to maximize God’s pleasure with me?
What I’ve realized is this: we can’t, in our own power, live lives pleasing to God. The heart of the Gospel is not about pleasing God but rather resting in the reality that he is pleased with us. We are naturally proactive beings. Even as infants, we seek to fix our own problems, primarily by communicating them to our caretakers via wails and cries. We, as humans, are “fix-it” creatures. Our natural posture towards holiness is no different. When we become aware of our failure to reach God’s standard, we attempt to self-correct, straighten out, and strive harder. This is the womb of religion; where it gets its initial life and sustenance.
For about 90% of my life up to this point, I’ve tried to live a life pleasing to God. I’ve tried to self-correct, straighten out and strive harder. I’ve embraced religion. Over the last year or so, however, I’ve begun to let go of my religion and my attempts to please God by what I do (or don’t do). I’ve begun to dig down deep and unearth the true essence of the Gospel. I’ve found the truth of God’s unconditional delight in his creation and lived in the freedom of knowing that Jesus has fulfilled all the standards I strain to reach. I’ve experienced the serenity of knowing that the answer to my many problems does not lie in me.
But we should still pursue a life pleasing to God, right? Surely you’re not advocating a duotone departure from the pursuit of holiness, right?
Of course not.
We have been called out of darkness and into marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). Holiness should not be thrown away with the bathwater of legalism. Holiness framed by freedom looks a little different than what we might expect with our “fix-it” mindsets. Let’s examine the Scripture and see just what is required of us to live a life pleasing to God.
1 Thessalonians 4 seems a good a place as any to start. It is God’s Will for us, as his children, that we abstain from sexual immortality and treat others with brotherly love (vv. 3, 9). According to John 15:12, God is pleased when we love each other as he loves us.
Simple enough. Hardly easy.
John 15, in general, reveals to us the electric power that we are blessed with when we rest in our relationship with God. In fact, rest is a disappointing choice of verbiage. The word “abide” used in John 15 expresses the permanence of roots. Jesus doesn’t say, “string up your hammock on me for a quick rest”. He says, “build your house in me.” When we are firmly rooted and grounded in our relationship with Christ, we are free to please him through our own pleasure in him. God calls us to abide in him so that “my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11)
I’m far from “figuring out” the Gospel. In fact, the glorious love of God is about as impossible to wrap my mind around as God’s perfect standard is impossible for me to reach on my own. That being said, I’m excited to continue to explore and experience the elements of freedom, holiness and satisfaction that shine in the bosom of God’s pleasure.