This afternoon I've been preparing for a class I teach called the Goal of God. I've taught this class for four years now and it has been my favorite. This weeks lesson touches on God's love and the ultimate goal of his love. In reading some of John Piper's material I encountered the questions:
1. Are you thankful for the love of God? Why?
2. Would you want to go to heaven if Jesus wasn't going to be there?
And then what about this question: What good is God's love?
For this class period I go deep into the death and ressurrection of Lazarus (John 11:1-45. The goal of God's love is sprinkled all over this story of Life and the Life-giver.
These questions at first seem obvious and even stupid. Why even ask them? Here's why. With all three questions my initial answers were self-centered and focused on the benefits I either recieve presently or will in the future. My answers revealed a defective definition of love. In answering the questions I discovered that I live by a definition of love that puts myself or someone else at center stage. I used to think love makes much of me or someone else (that I love.) This is wrong thinking.
God's love is good because it puts Him on center stage. God's love makes Him the primary desire of my heart. God will do what ever he has to so that mankind is able to experience Him and enjoy Him. That is the love of God and His love then defines what my love should look like toward another. With my new definition of love, loving someelse should be that I will do whatever it takes to show them how great God is. I must show others how to experience and enjoy God forever.
3 comments:
Are you teaching this in a Lifeshaping or in a cell group?
A LifeShaping class called The Goal Of God.
I'll have to look for it. I think I was in Washington when the latest series of LifeShaping classes started, so I missed the beginnings. I really enjoyed the couple of series with Jeff over the last few months though, and wanted to join one this time around.
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