Making Much of Him

I've started reading John Piper's "Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ." It's been a joy to read, and I'm not a reader. It has refreshed my soul. In Chapter Two he writes, "Christ does not exist in order to make much of us. We exist in order to enjoy making much of Him." That is a powerful statement. To ENJOY MAKING MUCH OF HIM. Not just to make much of Him but to ENJOY it. Whoa... Just let that one sink in. For "old", "long time" believers like myself I often find that I forget about the most basic, wonderful, joyful part of following Christ is the opportunity to be Satisfied in HIM (this is a common, well-known remark of Piper's, "He is most glorified in us when we are satisfied in HIM.") Satisfied in HIM...Making much of HIM...Enjoying making much of HIM... Piper states, Christ is not glorious so that we get wealthy or healthy. Christ is glorious so that rich or poor, sick or sound, we might be satisfied in him. An important thing as believers, although some "Christian" religions do not agree on this issue, is Christ's eternal, original existence. "Christ never became or developed. He simply was." Some may argue the significance of Christ origin, deity vs. human, eternal vs. created. It is on this very foundation in which we develop our view of God/Christ and salvation. If we do not believe Jesus is eternal and endless we cannot then be sanctified by his sacrifice. It changes the very nature of all things biblical and the trustworthiness of the God's word. This eternal being of God (Christ) is the basis of Yahweh, "to be". A perfect reference to God (Christ's) absolute nature is Isaiah 43:10 and Isaiah 44:6. In the two verses above we see God talking, calling himself the Alpha and Omega. In Revelation 22:12-13, 16 and John 8:58 we hear Jesus also calling himself the Alpha and Omega and "I am". If we believe that either verse is true and the Bible is completely God's infallible word (no matter the translation, b/c translation does not mean it goes from Hebrew to Italian to English, rather directly from Hebrew to English, or Hebrew to Italian, etc. so there is no loss in translation, especially since we have the original language, Hebrew and Greek alive and well), we must believe both verses are true. If one is a lie the whole Bible is called into question which then calls into questions Jesus' death and resurrection. The only conclusion is that... God has always been. Jesus has always been and the two are ONE. If God has always been and His glory is magnified through me, to enjoy making MUCH of HIM...I must consider seriously the deep importance of not mixing up the order of things. To make more of myself, to take Glory in myself as a believer, to confuse and believe the LIE that God's purpose is to glorify me, rather than ME glorify Him...I will never fully enjoy the plunder of being satisfied in Him. "To feast on this forever (God's Glory), is the aim of our being created and our being redeemed."