What aim should we set ourselves in life? To know God.
What is the "eternal life" that Jesus gives? Knowledge of God. "This is etenal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (Jn 17:3).
What is the best thing in life, bringing more joy, delight and contentment than anything else? Knowledge of God. "This is what the Lord says: "Let not the wise man boast on his wisdom or the stong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me'" (Jer 9:23-24).
What, of all the states God ever sees man in, gives God most pleasure? Knowledge of himself. "I desired . . . the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings," says God (Hos 6:6).
Once you become aware that the main business that you are here for is to know God, most of life's problems fall into place of their own accord.
Excerpt from a book I highly recommend, Knowing Godby J.I. Packer.
One of the most tragic trends I have noticed in our churches today is the way believers view God. Renowned author A.W. Tozer writes in his book The Knowledge of the Holy:
The low view of God entertained almost universally among Christians is the cause of a hundred lesser evils everywhere among us. With our loss of the sense of the majesty has come the further loss of religious awe and the consciousness of the divine presence ... It is impossible to keep our moral practices sound and our inward attitudes right while our idea of God is errouneous or inadequate. If we would bring back spiritual power to our lives, we must begin to think of God more nearly as He is.
If the majority of believers do not have the right view of God, how can our society even begin to see Him as He is? Because of the wrong view of God that predominates in all areas of our culture today, our society is in moral turmoil, and we are in danger of losing our moral soul.
Wow. In the few minutes I caught of the Michael Jackson memorial, I could not help but notice several things:
1. In our post-modern culture words apparently no longer have meaning, but are spoken for effect. The highly emotional words that appeared to move many were often empty words, contradictory words, or untrue words. That didn't seem to bother anybody.
2. The kind of glory that was being given to the "King of Pop" should only be given to the "King of Kings". To say that Michael Jackson will be remembered and loved forever is probably a bit of a stretch. To say that his life touched every person on earth is just plain false. To say that he will be with us to bring us joy forever is going too far and saying something that is only true of Jesus.
3. The climactic musical finale was a two-song combination: We are the World & Heal the World. These songs were accompanied by images of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and other world religions coming together to say that we are all one. The lyrics talked about how we are all a part of God's family. If the theology of that song was true, we should call back every missionary from the mission field immediately - they are wasting their time.
This isn't meant to disrespect MJ (though, didn't MJ used to refer to Michael Jordan? And have we completely forgotten how a young boy was able to stand in court and give an accurate descriptions of splotches on MJ's private parts? Does that not matter now because his music "touched" a lot of people? I think the mass media and the millions paying adulation to Jackson today would do well to remember that other part of his life before lifting him up as a great american hero. [BTW, on the subject of idolatry, this book may be worth your consideration.)
But the point of this post was just to remind ourselves of culture's perspective of truth. Truth simply doesn't exist. Or if it does, it doesn't matter. Words no longer have substance. Its the effect - the way they make us feel - that matters. Hasn't our President proven that again and again already?
As Christians, we certainly know better. Our souls rest on the hope that such ideas are not true. We are resting our very eternities on the belief that words do mean something. If gospel words do not turn out to be true, we are the biggest bunch of fools ever. And of course, that's exactly what some think of us.
Of course, even more than the memorial service, I think this brief CNN video sums up well the state of our culture at this time:
"Amen" to Justin's comments. I want to add that the media's infatuation with and coverage of Michael Jackson's death and funeral is a sad commentary on how far America has sunk into idolatry. Americans give more glory to the emotionally troubled and morally tarnished "king of pop" than we do to the King of kings.
