One of the top three sayings promoted by Bethlehem Baptists Church (home of the well-known pastor and writer John Piper) is this "God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in him."
Point no. I:
Essentially, God designed us to enjoy him. When we are pleased by God, we are touching our basic design and saying "yes, God, you ARE worthy, awesome, and good, and this pleases me".
a) In addition, all who see us will be pointed towards God. For at their core, people seek pleasure. Yes? Come on, admit it. We do not always seek what is right, or how we should act, only what brings us the most pleasure in the long run (or sometimes just the short run). And when people see that you are satisfied in God, they will seek after him as well, looking for that pleasure.
b) This is far better (in some respects) than trumpeting his name from the rooftops, arguing his existence in the marketplace, or running after people with tracts. All of these things point (at least a little) to the newbringer. When we are satisfied in God, it points straight to him. Is there anything we are doing to make ourselves look good? No! We're lying there like a vegetable, wallowing in Gods peace. (that's not a bad thing so long as we get up and do daring things for his glory after a little while)
c) Besides, this strategy is very good for ourselves as well. Spread Gods glory by enjoying him? It's like being told to go on vacation for work all the time. When we enjoy God, I don't mean 'oh, I just said that because that's what's supposed to happen'. No! You actually enjoy him, peace down inside, gives you energy. Sit down, stop your jabbering and listen - when you experience his peace you won't be thinking or worrying about anything else. It gives you energy. ... Have you noticed that after some worship experiences it takes you a couple hours of activity to wind down? That's because God gives you energy! Anyway...
Now, point no II:
Just as our designed place is to rest and enjoy him, the design of all other people and the rest of creation is also to be aligned with God in whatever way God intended - enjoying him, reflecting his qualities, copying him, acting towards their greatest pleasure under the recognition of Gods eternal and only source of pleasure, etc etc.
a) Personal note: I am an Industrial Engineer - we make things more efficient. More specifically, I enjoy the layout of facility floors, making products run through lines faster, and operations research which is essentially optimization of resources. A word that comes along with my way of thinking is alignment. I seek to align all available resources and the actions we take with the most efficient pattern, with the ultimate goals of the company, and with quality and human rights standards.
In the same way, all of creation is meant to be aligned with its intended design purpose by God. All of creation will be 'at rest' and glorifying God when they are in this position.
b) It is our purpose as Christians (or at least my purpose specifically as one who understands creation in this way as opposed to others) to work to align people and creation to the ultimate pattern of Gods truth, Gospel, and sovereignty. People suffer because they are out of line and their inner design cries out for fulfillment, for a place in Gods work. The gears of nature groan and rot when they are misused.
c) In the case of people, they have desired their own way, their own truth, their own pattern. Many companies hold dearly to erroneous definitions of efficiency and productivity that absolutely kill the company in the long run. People have created barriers, refutations of the truth, retreats into their own relative truth, pain, scars, lies, hardness, refusal, etc etc. Methods of penetrating this require creativity and a constant knowledge that God alone has wisdom. Any attempt to understand even the simple things of the human dominion (which are not ours anyway) are void and futile without recognition of the sovereignty and sole wisdom of God.
So, in conclusion: rest in God and seek him as your only pleasure, this will please him, point others to him, and help you survive too. Seek his glory first and only as your goal. Seek to align the rest of the world to his design and rely on his wisdom to figure out how.
As always, God be with you dear reader.
