Shortly after I began following Jesus in 1996, I was introduced to a book by my brother Ryan. The book was called Desiring God.
In retrospect, I can see how different this book was from almost anything else that a fellow Christian could have handed me. The books often found in the Christian section of bookstores are often lined with trash. You can find repackaged self-help with a “Christian” veneer or some new teacher hawking their latest insight (30 pages of content with a $25 price tag).
Like I said, Desiring God was different. It was a huge book by comparison — about 300 hundred pages with every page saturated with Scripture and the wisdom of Christian teachers of centuries gone by. It was also massive in the scale of its ideas. Rather than dealing with aspects of the Christian life on their own — a book on prayer or a book about marriage — this book sought to articulate the fundamental philosophy of the Christian life and then apply it to all these areas.
That philosophy is this: "The pursuit of pleasure is not optional, it is essential.” Pleasure in God is, in fact, the reason for which we were made. We were made to bring the greatest glory and honour to the greatest and most valuable being, not through service (although that would follow), not through adherence to a moral code (although that would follow as well), but through enjoyment of him as he is. You see, if God is in fact the best, most glorious, most worthy object of our affections, then there would be nothing greater than he could do than allow us to participate in his glory by taking all our greatest joy in knowing and enjoying him.
If there is one reason that Liberty Grace Church exists, it would be because men and women throughout this great city do not enjoy God as they ought. They have seen the God of the Bible as one that is bent on taking away their joy and freedom, rather than what he really is: a God bent on restoring to them the greatest joys imaginable and removing all obstacles to the attainment of that joy. That joy is not in the fulfillment of your dreams of success, the perfect relationship, or the perfect family; rather God has made you to participate in his glory.
I could say more, I know! I would say 300 pages more. Why not consider reading this fantastic book and learning what the Bible says about the great pleasure to be found in God. If anything, it can bring you face to face with your most pressing questions and point you toward the Bible's most penetrating answers.
Check out the book here. I hope you read it!
