Christians are the Ultimate Hedonists-and yet He loves us

Unfortunately, most Christians are the ultimate hedonists. They know that the greatest pleasure, in the long run, will be attained by foregoing much of what looks like pleasure in this present life and then 'rewarded' for it in eternity. Is this wrong? Is it wrong to give your life to God as a kind of 'fire insurance' against hell? Well, God accepts us on those terms--as long as we genuinely confess Christ as Lord, repent of our sin, and turn our face towards righteousness, asking Him to take us into His heart and make us His, as we take Him into our hearts and Make Him ours. This puts our spiritual maturity at that of an infant however. And sadly, far too many Christians remain infants for much of their lives--there are 70 year old infants out there aplenty. He takes us because of His mercy and because of His love--it never was nor ever will be because we are good. It is because He is good.

But what parent would find joy in having their baby never grow up? Such conditions horrify a parent--we long to see our children grow to healthy adulthood and to have children of their own (that we can spoil). I can imagine the weeping and distress of those with children who suffer from diseases that keep them from growing up. Can God feel any differently about His children when they do not grow? What joy can He experience when His plan for us to grow strong and tall and bear much fruit does not bear out? When we drink in His Word hungrily and then move on to solid food and even the choice meat of His Word--then His heart is filled with joy. We reciprocate His love by growing in Him and growing like Him. His is the love of laying down one's life for others.

If we grew to perfect maturity, we would love Him first and foremost because of Who He is, no matter what our own fates were to be. We would worship Him out of reverence even if we knew we were going to be destroyed for our sin, because we know we are guilty of it and we deserve it. We know there is no shadow or hint of sin in His presence--we would love Him too much to besmirch anything in His Holy presence. Thankfully He is so tenderhearted and merciful to us that He laid down His life so that we could be made holy and therefore able to approach His throne boldly and to worship and glory in His glory, one with Him, lost in Him.

It is perhaps instructive to our hearts to pause and consider our long term hedonism when we think condescendingly on those we see pursuing the pleasures they can enjoy now and call them hedonists. Paul seemed to be willing to give up even his own salvation for the sake of those he loved and led. I don't know if I can do that. I would hope and pray, but I think I have far to go in letting Him purify me to that degree. And God does not require it of us. But it is always there as a sobering reminder that we are just not all that 'good.' Any time we are tempted to indulge in self righteousness, (the ultimate oxymoron), it is a good way to sober up and remember the filthy rags He found us in. It is a good cause to rejoice in Him and His willingness to impute to us His own holiness, burning up our hubris so that all that is left is the pure gold He has wrought in us. Glory to God in the heavens, He is perfect and beautiful and loving and holy and compassionate--were He not, we would have no hope. Amen.